very good set, trick, switcheroo, exploding, ect are good ways to kill it, but you lose a poke. keeping rocks on the feild is helpfull, as rocks break sturdy, but the aron user will have a rapid spinner. Using a poke innefected by sandstorm against aron works, but you get left with one hp. u-turning to a ghost is the only common stradegy iv'e seen that kills it.

Not only is that set super gimmicky, the article is also (supposedly) going through a grammar check. Since editing the contents during the grammar check will lead to confusion and likely repeated / and or additional work, I'll wait until that first GP check comes for content edits.

amateur gp check! will most probably continue working on this (it's so long :X) - i'll just edit my post, if that's convenient?

anyways, it's pretty good! I hope I didn't overwrite your style too much: mainly rephrased some bits and combined a few short sentences. there was a slight tendency to overuse phrases such as, well, "such as" - oh, and note your use of curly apostrophes (use ' not ’).

In the 3rd and 4th Generations, sandstorm was a common battlingfield condition. However, this was mainly because Tyranitar,partiallyandto a lesser extent Hippowdon, was awere common threats in the metagame. In the 5th Generation, sandstorm receives some major offensive buffs. With the advent of sweepers such as Landorus and Excadrill, sandstorm has evolved from an annoying battlingbattle condition to a dominant playstyle.

This guide will focus on utilizing the beneficial effects of sandstorm to your advantage, and retaining the advantage against opposing weather conditions. After reading this guide, you should have gainedwill gain all the knowledge necessary on to building and playing with ato build and play with your own sandstorm team.

sandstorm basics
Sandstorm can be brought onto the field in two ways. The first—and generally inferior—method is using the move Sandstorm; this type of sandstorm will last up to five turns. The held item Smooth Rock lengthens the duration of this sandstorm to eight turns. However, this option is inferior toThe more common method is using Pokemon with the ability Sand Stream. This ability, an ability that casts a permanent sandstorm upon the field until the opposing team changes the weatherthe weather is changednot to nitpick, but your team can change it too. This guide will focus on the latter type of sandstorm.

the sand streamers
Any successful sandstorm team needs a Sand Streamer. Although only Hippowdon and Tyranitar possess this ability, both of them are great choices and can be easily incorporated into a team. Sandstorm is also the only weather condition with two OU-viable permanent summoners. Therefore,Having both Hippowdon and Tyranitar on your teamcan give you an advantage against opposing weather teams; however, beware of the horridpoor type synergy they have with commontypical sandstorm abusers. A core that shares ateam with a significant weakness to common attacking types will not be very successful.

tyranitar
Tyranitar is rightfully the more common Sand Streamer. The Special Defense boost effectively bumps Tyranitar’s BST to a staggering 670, rivaling that of common Ubers Pokemon. TheseGood stats across the board allow Tyranitar to be a versatile threat. The common mixed set with Stealth Rock can support sandstorm sweepers by luring in physical walls and weakening them. Stealth Rock isprovides another source of passive damage, while a combination ofmovepool that includes Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Crunch, Superpower, and Stone Edge allows Tyranitar to be a true offensive juggernaut on its own. Choice Band Tyranitar is another viable set that can spell disaster to teams that expect a weaker Tyranitar. It also has significant all-around bulk on both sides to easily switch in and fire off a devastating attack. Pursuit also has much utility as a way to damagecripple Ghost-, Psychic-types, and opposing weather starters without fail. Choice Scarf Tyranitar is also viable inon defensive teams as a secondary special wall,and revenge killer that can step in and prevent the defensive core from falling into shamblesand glue for a team.

However, Tyranitar's typing leaves it with multiple weaknesses to common attacking types. Most Fighting-types such as Scrafty or Conkeldurr can easily switch in, threaten Tyranitar with an OHKO, and find setup opportunities. As a result, any team using Tyranitar needs at least onea reliable Fighting-type check such aslike Gliscor, Slowbro, or Skarmory. Tyranitar also has trouble walling strong special attackers because it is weak to common special attacking types, particularlysuch as Water and Grass. A weakness to Earthquake also leaves it vulnerable to opposing sandstorm sweepers such as Excadrill and Landorus. Even withDespite these glaring weaknesses, Tyranitar is a strong Pokemon on its own, and a good team supporter with its ability Sand Stream.

hippowdonHippowdon is often aAfrequently overlooked choice, but itthe sand hippopotamus / Hippowdonisa stillnonethelessa very viable option. With its greatexcellentHit Points and physical defensive statbase HP and Defense, Hippowdon continues to be a premier physical wall in the Black and White metagame. While most Tyranitar-based sandstorm teams have a weakness to opposing sandstorm sweepers, Hippowdon is a solid stop to most physical attackers. It has a wealth of support options such as Stealth Rock, Roar, and Toxic and, as well as a reliable recovery move in Slack Off. AlsoMoreover, Hippowdon is no slacker in the offensive department. Possessing an above-average base Attack of 112, its attacks surprisingly pack a surprising punch even without investments. It can even run a Choice Band set for the surprise value not too sure about the phrasing of this myself - I'll check it.

As a defensive Pokemon, Hippowdon’'s significantly weaker Special Defense stat stands out as its major flaw. Hippowdon can usually solve this issue by running a specially defensive spread that allows himit to easily switch in on Ninetales, mixed Tyranitar, and other common threats. Still, strong special threats such aslike Rotom-W and Politoed can OHKO Hippowdon even with maximum Special Defense investment, so a special wall such as Blissey is a requirementrecommended for all teams using Hippowdon. Hippowdon can also force multiple switches with its bulk and Roar, so Spikes support is alsocan be helpful too. Despite its low usage, Hippowdon is by no means a pushover, and with proper support fromcan form part of a strong defensive core.

Sandstorm teams are highly regarded for their flexibility, thanks to the large variety of abusers and sandstorm setters. While most weather teams have only one auto-weather userweather starter, sandstorm teams get to choose between the defensive Hippowdon and the offensive Tyranitar, or even both for more chances to keep the sandstorm raging. With many sweepers that perform well in sandstorm, offensive sandstorm teams are not to be easily dismissed. These teams usually have Pokemon that have an abilitywith abilities that boosts itstheir stats in sandstorm. These teams also make use of the secondary damage to any walls that are not of Steel-, Ground-, or Rock-type. This is crucial for offense teams as walls have to use, removing their Leftovers recovery and pressuring them into using recovery moves more often and are also more vulnerable without leftovers slowly regaining their health. They haveEasy access to Stealth Rock support from Tyranitar and Hippowdon, and can proceed to use these passive damages to their advantageis another advantage of sandstorm teams. SO SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO EDIT THIS SO MUCH X: guess I got carried away there; feel free to disregard.

Due to the residual damage caused by sandstorm, stall teams may also employ sand setters on their teams. Sand stall teams work by abusing sandstorm’'s residual damage andwhile setting up entry hazards like a normal stall teams. Both Hippowdon and Tyranitar are great defensive Pokemon capable of using Stealth Rock.; also, Toxic Spikes are notorious for piling on theaccumulating secondary damage along with sandstorm. Stall teams can also utilizemake good use ofthe boost to Special Defense that Rock-types' Special Defense buffget in order to sponge attacks from many powerful special attackers.

However, most sand teams are balanced. This is explained partly asby the fact that sandstorm is not as easy to offensively abuse as sun or rain. Sun grants offensive boosts to all Fire-types and Chlorophyll Pokemon, whileand rain grants offensive boosts to all Water- and Electric-types and, as well as Swift Swim Pokemon. Sandstorm, on the other hand, does not directly boost the offenses of all but two OU Pokemon. As a result, many sand teams only have a single sandstorm sweeper, supported by a strong defensive core to gradually weaken the opponent with sandstorm, entry hazards, and crippling statuses. TheEntry hazards are also crucial in wearing down the opposing weather inducer and maintaining the weather advantage. Only after the opposing core is severely weakened would these types ofsuch teams attempt a sweep. These types of teams will often have a combination of Pokemon recommended for offensive and defensive sand teams.

With all these different types of teams, which Pokemon are the best choices for your sandstorm team? Below is a list of Pokemon that any sand team should consider.

Only a few Pokemon are capable of usingmaking full use of sandstormas a game-changing effectto change a game. But– but don't fret, becausethosethese unique few that are able to abuse sandstorm are some of the greatest sweepers in BW, so don't fret. You are virtually guaranteed to see at least one of them are almost guaranteed to be on any remotely offensive sandstorm team due to their immense sweeping potential. The following are the key abusers of sandstorm and are great choices to keep in mind when constructing a sandstorm team.

Excadrill
Excadrill is one of the most threatening new Pokemon fromintroduced in Black and White. Its ability, Sand Rush, doubles its Speed in sandstorm, allowing it to even outspeed even the likes of maximum speed Deoxys-eDeoxys-S and Choice Scarf Jolteon. As if this wasn’t enoughFurthermore, Excadrill boasts access to Swords Dance and a godly Attack stat of 135. Granted, Excadrill is one of the more unfortunate Pokemon that havehas Return as a top coverage choice, but its poor movepool does not stop it from sweeping. Rock Slide and STAB Earthquake gives it sufficient coverage, while a choice of X-Scissor, Return, or Brick Break is also available if additional coverage is desired. Excadrill is also an excellent Rapid Spinner, as most spinblockers will think twice before switching in lest it Swords Dance and sweep through their team.

There are only a few Pokemon that can claim the impressive feattitle of countering Excadrill. Skarmory is capable of walling it , and setting up Spikes and Whirlwinding it out, but is otherwise unable to scratch Excadrill in return. As the last PokemonWith strategic play, Excadrill as the last Pokemon can deny any phazing attemptsthwart attempts to phaze it and set up against Skarmory can't Skarm Taunt though?. Physically defensive Quagsire does not care how many Swords Dances Excadrill has, but needs to be healthy to take several Life Orb boosted Earthquakes. Super effective priority such as Conkeldurr’'s Mach Punch or Azumarill’'s Aqua Jet is another effective check to Excadrill, but most priority users cannot switch in to its strong Earthquake more than once. Gliscor and Bronzong, givenProvided that they have Earthquake and another attacking move in addition to Earthquake, Gliscor and Bronzong are perhaps the best Excadrill counters. They areNot only are they capable of walling Excadrill, but also capable of denting they can also dent it with an Earthquake of their own.

Landorus
Landorus is yet another deadly sweeper in sandstorm. Its ability, Sand Force, boosts its Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves by 30% in sandstorm. While this boost is smaller than the 50% boost that either Sun or Rain grants, it is just enough for Landorus. In fact, the fact that Landorus does not depend entirely on sandstorm makes it an appealing choice. It has a fantastic 101 base Speed, and it can serve as a Choice Scarf userscout with U-turn or a Swords Danceboosting sweeper with Swords Danceor Rock Polish.

While not as fast as Excadrill, Landorus is a more versatile offensive threat. Thanks to its above-average Special Attack, Landorus can run a mixed set with a Hidden Power of choice to beat physical walls such as Gliscor or Skarmory. It also remains as one of the only viable users of the move Smack Down to strip Skarmory, Rotom-W, and Bronzong of their Ground immunity to hit them hard with Sand Force boosted, STAB, and super effective Earthquake for major damage. With so many tricks under its sleevesup its sleeve, Landorus is arguably harder to counter than Excadrill. Priority andRevenge killing such as with prioritydoesn't priority = revenging?areis the most reliable ways to check this monstrous threat, but usually a generic physical wall or an EdgeQuake resisterresist will usually be enough.

Terrakion
Terrakion is an example of a Pokemon that has everything necessary for a sweeper. ItsDual STAB,of Fighting and Rock, provide it with near-flawless coverage that hits everything bar Toxicroak, Nidoking, and Golurk for neutral damage Claydol, Gallade, Medicham, Nidoqueen. Its fantasticexceptionalvirtually identical phrasing used for Landorus 108 base Speed additionallymeans thatallows it to outspeeds most of the OU metagame. Terrakion is therefore a good user of Choice Band or Choice Scarf thanks to its fantastic coverage and great speed. It also has access to two great boosting moves in Swords Dance and Rock Polish. Because its STAB attacks are so greatpowerful, Terrakion can even afford to pack both Swords Dance and Rock Polish into its Double Dance set, and use the more appropriate boosting move accordingappropriate to the opponent's team. Although sandstorm does not directly boost Terrakion's offensive statsoffenses, Terrakion does appreciate the Special Defense boost. In sandstorm, Terrakion can boost its stats in relative safety and proceed to sweep. Sadly, weaknesses to common priority moves such as Mach Punch, Bullet Punch, and Aqua Jet means that Terrakion is easily revenged. Still, it is a very powerful sweeper that can easily turn the tide of a game.

Immunity to sandstorm is a huge boon to many offensive Pokemon in sandstorm teams. The BW metagame is full of Sources of passive damagesabound in the BW metagame:, and sandstorm and Life Orb damage can add up very quickly take their toll, especially on top of Stealth Rock and Spikes damage. While these Pokemon do not benefit immensely from sandstorm, they are not harmed by it, either. Still, residual damage from sandstorm removes Leftovers recovery,can turning some 3HKOs to 2HKOs. What kind of sweeper doesn't appreciate that?

Magnezone
Magnezone'sis a Pokemon commonly seen on Sandstorm teams due to itsunique ability, Magnet Pull. Magnezone can, enables it to trap and knock outremove the Steel-type walls such aslike Skarmory and Bronzong that are commonly used to check sandstorm sweepers such as Excadrill. Sandstorm sweepers have few airtight counters, so Pokemon that can easily eliminate these troublesome obstacles are very welcome. It can serve as a revenge killer with a Choice Scarf equipped, or run a Charge Beam set to boost its Special Attack on said trapped Steels.However,Ultimately, though, Magnezone is a rather one-dimensional Pokemon; after all Steel-types are removed, Magnezone can attempt to tank with its multiple resistances, or—more realistically—, serve as a death fodder.

Scizor
Scizor hasn't changed one bit from DPP, and it is still incredibly effective at what it does. STAB Choice Band and Technician-boosted Bullet Punch off base 130 Attack is still strongno less devastating, and U-turn is as useful as ever. While the advent of Team Preview has reduced the need for scouting, U-turn is a very safe option that does hefty damage to common threats such as Tyranitar and Reuniclus and keeps thewhile retaining offensive momentum. Scizor can also trap troublesome Pokemonfoes such as Gengar and Latias, putting them into a checkmate position with the dual threat of Bullet Punch and Pursuit. Scizor can also try to sweep with a Swords Dance set, abusing its strong priority to plow through teams while unhindered by Choice Scarf users and faster Pokemon. Even with lackluster STABs walled by several common Pokemon, Scizor manages to make the best out of them with exceptional utility and sheer power.

Lucario
Lucario is hands down one of the most versatile sweepers in BW OU. With access to cruciala variety of boosting moves such as Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Agility are Calm Mind and Work Up worthy of a mention?, it can sweep in many different ways. Often,You may even find yourthe opponent will switching in a counter to the wrong variant, allowing Lucario to boost its offensive stats twice. All Lucario desperately need residual damage, however:—Swords Dance and Nasty Plot sets require prior damage on anything faster thanthat outspeeds it atits90 base Speed 100, while Agility sets struggle to dent defensive walls without outsidehelp from its teammates. Lucario also appreciates Tyranitar removing bulky Psychic-types and faster Ghost-types out of the picture. For all these reasonsNevertheless, Lucario is an excellent choice for any sandstorm team looking for strong priority and a lategame sweeper.

Heatran
Due to its unique typing, Heatran can be a very valuable playeraddition to a sandstorm team., with its Fire STAB allows Heatran to incinerating opposing Steel-type physical walls that often trouble sandstorm teams. Heatran also possesses other offensive options such as Earth Power, Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon, and a choice of Hidden Power. Its support moves include Roar, Taunt, Toxic, as well as Stealth Rock, and a specially defensive set can be viable in a defensively oriented team with its valuable Dragon resistance. Heatran is very versatile, and it can use Choice Scarf, Air Balloon, or Substitute to a great effect. Note that most variants of Heatran areHeatran is in general a great check to Drought teams, and Heatran is therefore a great choice for sandstorm teams that struggle against sun.

Reuniclus
Reuniclus can becomeis a natural fit on many sandstorm teams as its ability, Magic Guard, preventsprotects it from taking residual damage. Since most sandstorm sweepers are physically based, Reuniclus can provide a nice offensive balance as well as type diversity to sandstorm teams. Instant recovery and thea valuable Fighting resist also helps it check troublesome Pokemon such as Conkeldurr. With access to Calm Mind and Trick Room along with itsgreat natural bulk, Reuniclus also has no problem sweeping. Offensive Trick Room versionvariants does well against opposing offensive teams, while a bulky Calm Mind set can single-handedly destroy a stall team.

Metagross
The transition from DPP to BW was nothing but a bag of disappointmentsbrought solely disappointment for Metagross. The nerf to Explosion nerf meant that Metagross lost its best moveone of its best moves, while the advent of Team Preview did not helpno favors for a Pokemon that once enjoyed consistent top-ten usage as a lead. Still, Metagross is perfect if you desire a Pokemon that can taketank strong hits and hit backretaliate just as hard. Its ridiculoussubstantial'ridiculous' is pushing it a bit IMO bulk means that even with no defensive investments, it will not be OHKOed byhelps it survive most unSTABbed Earthquakes even with no defensive investment. Combined with his auspicious typing, this means that Metagross is one of the most reliable Stealth Rock users. Other than its psuedo-signature move Meteor Mash, Metagross'also has diverse attacking options include Earthquake, Ice Punch, ThunderPunch, Bullet Punch, Zen Headbutt, Hammer Arm, and Pursuit. The fact that most Metagross are hopelessly walled by the likes of Skarmory and Forretress is rather disappointing, but it can try to fixcircumvent this issue by using a mixed wallbreaker set that can break walls andto pave the way for a late game sweep for Pokemonteammate such as Excadrill.

Stacking Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-type Pokemon is not the best way to build a sandstorm team. It is important to note that not every member of a sandstorm team need not benefit directly from sandstorm. In fact, even the most successful sandstorm teams often carry a member or two that takes passive damage from sandstorm.;In order to compensate for the sandstorm damage, these Pokemon usually have access to instant recovery in order to compensate for sandstorm damage. These are a few offensive choices that will often round out a sandstorm team. Note that these are by no means the only Pokemon viable inon a sand team despite their lack of immunity to sandstorm. This is merely a short list of Pokemon that provide valuable resistances to common weaknesses of sand teams while also matching up well against opposing weathers.

Latias
Latias is a prime example of a Pokemon arguably only hindered by sandstorm. Common Latias counters areinclude Tyranitar and Steel-types, meaning sandstorm is not wearing down her counters. On the other hand, Latias loses her valuable Leftovers recovery in sandstorm. However, the true merit of using Latias in a sandstorm team is that she solidly counters Drizzle and Drought teams. She switchesfreely switching into opposing weather starters with easeher great special bulk and forces them toforcing a switch. This means that you can easily greatly helps your side retain the sandstorm, and hence the advantage. She also patches up any weaknesses to Fighting, Water, Grass, and Ground, and other common sandstorm weaknesses– common flaws in sandstorm teams.

*I know C&C guidelines say that referring to Pokemon in an analysis as either 's/he' or 'it' is fine as long as it's consistent, but what about for multiple Pokemon analyses like this? so far I've been going with 'it', but calling Latias 'it' sounds kinda weird to me :/

Rotom-W
While most Rotom formes lost its OU status upon losing itstheir Ghost-typings, Rotom-W was able to retain its OU statusbucks the trend for a good reason: Water / Electric is a fantastic typing, both offensively and defensively. It gives Rotom-W only one rare weakness into the uncommon Grass, while providing excellent dual-STAB that nothing bar Grass-types and Gastrodon resist many Dragons eg Lati@s, Hydreigon, Haxo, Kyurem, Water Absorb Lanturn, Water Absorb Quagsire, Water Absorb Seismitoad. It also has handy access to Will-o-Wisp to cripple the most commonubiquitous Grass-type, Ferrothorn. In fact, Rotom-W is deceptively bulky with Will-o-Wisp and Pain Split, even with little defensive investment. Another plus of Rotom-W is that it is very difficult for rain teams to handle:—it haspacks handy resistances to Hydro Pump and Hurricane, while only taking only neutral damage from Thunder. After tanking a strong hit, Rotom-W can recover lost health with Pain Split, or retaliate with a strong Thunderbolt that most likely hits the majority of the opposing rain team super effectively.

Celebi
There may beare undoubtedly some obvious recurring patterns in this list of Pokemon;: all of them resists Water, resists Ground, and fares well against Rain. Indeed, one of the main reasons that a team with only sandstorm-immune Pokemon cannot succeed is that resistance to Water-type moves are very rare among Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types. Celebi is yet another possibility for the obligatory Water-type resistance. The most common Nasty Plot set capitalizes on its bulk to set up and plow through teams., but supportUtility sets are also viable thanks to its incredibly versatile support movepool, which includes moves such as Thunder Wave, Leech Seed, Stealth Rock, and the rare Heal Bell. Celebi alsoadditionallycheckscounters problematic Fighting-types such as Conkeldurr, Virizion, and Breloom, as well aswith ease. Celebi is also one of the best checks for Rotom-W and its fellow Water- and Electric-types.

Defensive walls always appreciate residual damage to put the opponent on a timer to compensate for their lack of offense. Sandstorm provides yet another source of passive damage—along with entry hazards, it, which, in conjunction with entry hazards, can rack up damage rather quickly. This combined damage will gradually weaken the opposing weather starter, which is always helpful. However, immunity to your own sandstorm is all the more crucial as a defensive Pokemon to fully benefit from sandstorm. The following are great defensive Pokemon, now made even better with sandstorm.

Skarmory
Skarmory remains one of the best Spikers ofin the game. Skarmory has incredible synergy with Tyranitar, as it can take Bug-, Steel-, Fighting-, and Ground-type moves aimed at Tyranitar, while Tyranitar can cover the chink in Skarmory's armor with its own ridiculous Special Defense. As the sand inducer will often carry Stealth Rock has much greater distribution, Skarmory can focus on placinglaying Spikes that willto wear down opposing weather inducers. In a battle against opposingof weather inducers or simply "weather war"?, wearing down the opposing weather inducer is crucial. As a result, Skarmory is a good choice for any balanced team wanting Spikes support. Walling opposing sand sweepers such as Excadrill and Landorus is another draw of this steel bird.

Gliscor
Gaining Poison Heal through DW was a godsend to Gliscor. While Poison Heal Gliscor does not have access to Roost, it hardly matters, as Poison Heal Gliscor's huge end-of-turn recovery means Gliscor never needs it to begin with. Gliscor is perhaps the most reliable check to the likes of Bulk Up Conkeldurr and Swords Dance Excadrill. It also has many optionsis also surprisingly versatile: its Taunt + Swords Dance set can break stall teams and pose an offensive threat, while it can utilize a combination of Substitute + Protect with Poison Heal recovery toset can stall indefinitely until the opponent succumbs to Toxic damage and sandstorm damage. Baton Pass, Sand Veil, and offensive SD with Acrobatics are other underusedlesser usedunderused might be confusing - UU options that can be just as devastating. Just like Skarmory, Gliscor is one of the best physical walls in the game, and fares extremely well against opposing sandstorm teams.

Forretress
Forretress remains the premier entry hazard user of BW OU. With access to Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Rapid Spin, Forretress is able to provide any type of support relating to hazards. Toxic Spikes gets a special mention, as it is a rare commodity limited to Forretress, Tentacruel, and other forgettable UU Pokemon. Forretress also gains a new option in Volt Switch—while it is, which, while a weak special move with low Base Power, it allows Forretress to escape the clutches of Magnezone, and gain momentum on the multiple switches that Forretress can force. However, Forretress cannot be relied upon to lay down multiple hazards due to theits lack of reliable recovery. Hence, Wish support from the likes of Blissey is recommended to get the most mileage out of Forretress.

Jirachi
Jirachi can fill many roles for a team with its incredible movepool and 100 base 100 stats across the board. While Jirachi is listed primarily(? what's the reasoning behind putting it in defense?) as a defensive Pokemon, keep in mind that it has the option to go on the offensive with a Calm Mind set, a mixed variant, or a Choice Scarf set. Jirachi's typing really sets it apart as one of the best Latios checks available, and with Wish and Special Defense investments, it can take most neutral special attacks with ease and heal its teammates with Wish. Jirachi can also fill the role of a status spreader. Body Slam, Thunder Wave, and Iron Head are all options for paralysis support and general annoyance. You should not rely on Iron Head flinches, but it is a bonus that can bail you out of tough situations.

Quagsire
Overshadowed by Swampert for two whole generations, Quagsire finally has something to boast. Unaware is a fantastic ability that stops a range ofset-upsetup sweepers such as the likes offrom Conkeldurr and Excadrill to Lucario, Latios, and Reuniclus in their tracks. Ground / Water is also a fantastic defensive typing that allows it to counter most variants with Thundurus with ease, givenprovided that it does not carry the uncommon Grass Knot. With anor "an instant recovery move" instant recovery in Recover, Quagsire can be incredibly difficult to crack, as it does not care about boosted hits. Stockpile and Curse are also viable options to boost its defenses and make it even harder to take down. While Quagsire is instantly forced out by virtually any Grass-type, it is an excellent defensive Pokemon that should not be underestimated.

Gastrodon
Gastrodon is another Water / Ground-type wall that is no longer outclassed by Swampert. The generation shift has upgraded Storm Drain mechanics in BW has changed sosuch that Storm Drainits user not only takes zero damage from Water-type moves, but also gets +1gains a boost to its Special Attack. Now immuneWith immunities to Water- and Electric-type moves, Gastrodon can serve as a fantastic check to the likes of Thundurus, Rotom-W, and other common Drizzle abusers. With its great Special Defense and access to Recover, it can even tank a surprise HP Grass from the likes of Scarf Politoed, Recover, and switch outeven stray HP Grasses and Grass Knots do not faze the sea slugjust mentioning Scarf Poli might be shortchanging Gastro a bit seeing as it comfortably lives LOMie's Grass Knot, idk. Since Gastrodon has lackluster offenses even with Storm Drain, status moves such as Toxic is a good choiceare recommended, as it is otherwise unable to do much back to the Water-types it can counterfreely switch in on. Gastrodon isA full stop to most Water- and Electric-types, and a well-played Gastrodon can be a nuisance to any Drizzle team.

Bronzong
Bronzong is a rather overlooked choice for a defensive Pokemon. Its good typing and Levitate leaves it with a single weakness to Fire, and access to Stealth Rock, dual screens, and Trick Room makes Bronzong a fine support Pokemon. Bronzong also resists both Ground and Rock-type moves, a common attacking combination utilized by many overused physical attackers. It can also use HP Ice to check common threats such as Gliscor and other Dragon-types that do not take enoughmuch damage from Gyro Ball. As one of the two levitating Steel-types immune to Ground, Bronzong is inevitably compared with Skarmory. Lack of Spikes, reliable recovery move, or phazing movecapabilityhurts Bronzongis a definite letdown, but it can still be an effective supporter for an offensive team needing an all-rounded tanksponge, or a part of a defensive core with Wish support.

Blissey
Blissey is always an option for any type of defensive team, including defensive sandstorm teams. Even withIn spite ofthe power creep, the pink blob still remains the best special wall in the game. Chansey gives Blissey much competition, but Blissey is undoubtablyundoubtedly / indubitably the better special sponge in sandstorm for a single reason: Eviolite—and Chansey's subsequent lack of Leftovers—will often leaves Chansey very prone to residual damage. Thanks to the new Wish mechanics, Standard Blissey's Wishes will now heal ~300HPover 350 HP, equivalent of 80% for most Pokemon, and even 100% for some Pokemon with smaller HP, fully revitalizing the likes of Bronzong, Forretress, Latias, Lucario, and Rotom-W. This makes herThe best Wish user in the game, and she can easily support Pokemonthis makes her invaluable to teammates without reliable recovery, such as Forretress. Nonetheless, as Blissey has relatively low Defense, she is easily mauled by the likes of Conkeldurr and Terrakion. Therefore, Pokemon with high Defense such as Gliscor can be a great help. Entry hazard users such aslike Forretress are also recommended to take advantage of the multiple switches Blissey can force. Also, note that Blissey is not an end-all be-all counter to all special threats:—Calm Mind Reuniclus, Specs Latios with Psyshock, and SubSplit Gengar are examples of special threats that Blissey cannot handle alone. Hence, teammates such as Choice Scarf Tyranitar can help as a secondary special sponge.

(more she vs. it issues)

Slowbro
Dream World has given Slowbro an incredible asset in Regeneration. With Slack Off, Regeneration, and its already impressive defenses, Slowbro can be a pain to take out without special attackerson the physical side. Slowbro’'s biggestmost valuable niche in a sand team is that it can not only counter most Fighting-types that beat Tyranitar, but also soak up Water- and Fire-type attacks that more common Fighting-type resistors such as Gliscor isare unable to take. Slowbro also has multiple attacking options such asincluding Scald, Psychic, Psyshock, Grass Knot, and Fire Blast—, and with a decent base Special Attack of 100, Slowbro is no slouch offensively. Slowbro tends to giveyield a safe switch-in to many threatening Pokemon such as Latios, but a timely Toxic or Thunder Wave on the switch should be enough towill cripple them for the remainder of the match. While Slowbro is rather vulnerable to status itself, don't be fooled by its UU status: it is one of the best physical walls available despite its UU status.

Tentacruel
Tentacruel's niche has always been, and always will always be, Toxic Spikes. Tentacruel does not appreciate sandstorm cancelling out its only source of recovery;. however, its Toxic Spikes can be a massive help to any defensive team. Teammates such as Substitute + Protect Gliscor are excellent choices to abuse the accumulating sandstorm and Toxic Spikes damage. Aside from laying hazards of its own, Tentacruel can Rapid Spin to clear the field for your team, as well as absorb Toxic Spikes upon entering the arena. Tentacruel also provides a valuable Water-type resistance, and can fares well against Drizzle teams thanks to Rain Dish recovery. Its other ability, Liquid Ooze, also enables it to counter common Grass moves such as Giga Drain and Leech Seed from Celebi, Virizion, and Ferrothorn, as well as Conkeldurr's Drain Punch, which sand teams will appreciate. Thanks to its mediocre offenses, however, Tentacruel is generally limited to purely defensive teams., but because the lack of reliable recovery is more troublesome on a defensive team, Wish support from Blissey or Jirachi is highly recommended to useenable Tentacruel to reach its full potential.

Other than the suggested Pokemon suggested above, there are many more options for a sandstorm team. Rock-types such as Cradily, Shuckle, and Rhyperior receive a 50% boost in Special Defence, a nice complement to their natural bulk. Cradily has an interesting DW ability, Storm Drain, which turns Cradilyturning it into a handy check to rain teams. Rhyperior too is able to crush unprepared teams with its insane attack and bulk. However, they are underused options for agood reason:. Cradily is offensively challenged even with multiple Curses under its belt doesn't this somewhat contradict the following sentence? you also didn't talk about Shuckle at all; did you mean to refer to it here? (then again, true, shuckle >.>), while Stockpile sets will notcannot accomplish much and will fall to an eventual critical hit. Admittedly, Cradily can become quite the unstoppable force after significant Curse boosts with a Curse set usinggood coverage in Earthquake and Rock Slide as coverage. However, it is weak to status, shut down by Taunt, and happens to be completely countered by the likes of Scizor, Taunt Gliscor, Bulk Up Conkeldurr, and other very common OU Pokemon. On the other hand, Rhyperior still cannot hope to tank super effective special attacks with its pitiable base 55 Special Defense, lest it sacrifice its offensive power. The fact that Rhyperior do not fare wellfares poorly against opposing weather teams does not help. While theythese Pokemon certainly benefit from sandstorm, there are oftenalmost always better options to choose from.

Of course, Rock-type Pokemon are not the only Pokemon that appreciate sandstorm. Sadly, Sand Force, Sand Rush, and Sand Veil have poor distribution, and the majority of those who get these rare abilities, bar thealreadyaforementioned Excadrill and Landorus, are either underwhelming or have better abilities to chooseavailable. For example, Gliscor has prefers Poison Heal over to Sand Veil, while Gastrodon's stats better suit the more defensivehas Storm Drain over the offensive Sand Force. Stoutland can be an interesting option thanks to coverage moves such as Ice Fang, Fire Fang, and Wild Charge, but it has poor typing and weak offensive statsoffenses. Sand Veil,As with other luck-based abilities, Sand Veilcannot be relied upon,is unreliable and therefore is not recommended. With the banning of Garchomp, Sand Veil is stuck with RU Pokemon anyways donphan gets dw sand veil, and good luck sweeping with Cacturne or Sandslash which has sand rush, haha in OU. Still, these options may be viable in UU with support from Eviolite Hippopotas. actually Hippowdon might be dropping so you might need to rewrite this - in fact, will you write up something for UU if it does?

~~

amarillo!!!!! if i got two voting points for every serial comma i had to add / curly apostrophe i corrected in this section i'm sure i'd be at voting reqs by now :d

This section will deal with common weaknesses of sandstorm teams, and how to overcome them. Some ofThese potential issues include opposing weather teams, but alsoas well as individual threats that can check the fewcommon sandstorm abusers available. This section will provide you with not only what you wouldshould expect from an opposing weather teams, but also how to counter them without having to rely on niche counters that do not add todeviating too much from the overall goal of theyour team.

These teams are always a major threat, threateningas they have a type advantage over both Tyranitar and Hippowdon. With rain upIn the rain, Water-type attacks are boosted by 50%, as well as increasing Thunder and Hurricane’s accuracies to 100%, which certainly helps as they are both 120 Base Power attacksand Thunder and Hurricane—both 120 Base Power attacks—gain perfect accuracy. It also gives Pokemon with the Dry Skin and Rain Dish abilities an extra form of recovery, as well as offeringand offers defensive support to Steel-, Bug-, Ice-, and Grass-types supportdue to a 50% damage reduction fromas Fire-type attacks are halved in power. TheRain also doubles the Speed of Pokemon with the Swift Swim ability. Due to the largeoverwhelming threat Drizzle teams were in the metagameposed, a ban on having Pokemon with both the Drizzle and Swift Swim abilities on the same team was put in placeimplemented. Nevertheless, Drizzle teams still have a large number of hard hittingpowerful abusers and should never to be taken lightly. It is always a must to have at least one or two Pokemon in your sandstorm team to keep Pokemon that are commonly used on a rain team in check.The importance of having in your sandstorm team at least one or two Pokemon to check common rain abusers cannot be overemphasized. Most rain teams consist of special attackers with Water- and Electric-types as their main STAB and hence all have similar checks: Pokemon with a good Special Defense and Pokemon with a resistance or an immunity to Water-type moves. Such supportersdefenders include: Ferrothorn, Gastrodon, Chansey, Blissey, Tentacruel, Jellicent, Celebi, Latias, Latios, and Rotom-W.

Politoed
Politoed has made a great impact on today’'s metagame with its newly bestowedacquired Dream World ability, Drizzle. Whilst the impact it has on the metagamethis is largely due to the vast number and sheer power of the rain abusers, Politoed is definitely no slackerweakling itself. Its decent bulk 90 / 75 / 100 defenses and itssolid base 90 Special Attack allows it to run a variety of sets, from a defensive set to a hard-hitting Choice Specs set, thanks to the 50% powerDrizzle boost to Water-type moves provided by the rain, or even a revenge killer with Choice Scarf. All in all, Politoed is a major threat to sandstorm teams withsince both Tyranitar and Hippowdon beingare weak to Water-type moves. Special walls with a Water resistance or immunity such as Jellicent, Chansey, Ferrothorn, Tentacruel, and Gastrodon—as well as Chansey and Blissey due to their gargantuan Special Defense—seemed better to break it up than to leave it as a plain list imo are always good to have on your sandstorm team to keep Politoed in check. Defensive Politoed sets hate being hit with status, especially Toxic poison or burn, as they wear it down fasterthis significantly reduces its lifespan. Choice sets require good prediction, but getting in on the right moveclever switching can force Politoed out. Entry hazard support is welcome,as this limits the number of times Politoed can switch in to your Tyranitar or Hippowdon. It is also worth noting that Pursuit Tyranitar can also deal with weakened Politoed if it comes in safely, preventing it from switching back in and setting up rain againto reinstate rain and turning the tide of the battle in your favour.

Starmie
Starmie has beenholds the exceptional honor of being OU in every Generation to date, and for a good reason too. Despite not receiving any significant improvements this Generationin the generation shift, Starmie still boasts its blistering base 115 Base Speed—which allows Starmie to outspeeding every unboosted Pokemon in the OU tier except Deoxys-S,—as well as having a decent base 100 Base Special Attack and access to high powered moves such as Hydro Pump and Thunder, meaning it isand is thus able to abuse Rain to its fullest. Sand teams will not appreciate a rain-boosted Hydro Pump, a 100% accurate Thunder, nor a powerful Ice Beam, so it is essential to have a Starmie check somewhere on your team. Chansey and Blissey have always been its top counters ever since they were introduced, and they still do a great job against it in this Generation. However, the 5th Generation has also given us a Water-type sweeper’'s worst enemies: Ferrothorn and Storm Drain Gastrodon,. The former beingis able to tank any hitstake a hit and OHKO Starmie with Power Whip, whileand the latter beingis immune to both Water- and Electric-type attacks; both of these work well on any sandstorm team. If you lack at least one of these fourthe aforementioned Pokemon, it is of high importanceabsolutely vital that you keep sandstorm up to maintain Excadrill’'s Sand Rush, or have a reliable Choice Scarf revenge killer that can reliably to take care of the starfish. Starmie’'s downfall has always been its common weaknesses and rather average bulk, meaning that it will not last too long on the field if you play intelligently. (remove paragraph break)Even withDespite its high attacking prowess, it is also worth noting that Starmie can also serve as a great support Pokemon toon a Rain team, with access to Rapid Spin, itsthe ability to beat the most common spinblockers in the metagame, the move Recoverreliable recovery, as well asand its ability Natural Cure. If you see a Starmie on the opposing team, you may wishit would be wise to be a bit conservative with setting up entry hazards until the Starmie is significantly weakened. Due to Starmie’'s Psychic weaknesstyping, Tyranitar is one of the best checks to Starmie, as it can OHKO with Crunch, or Pursuit if it switches outhas both Pursuit and Crunch to KO Starmie whether it stays in or switches out., butHowever, this should be used only as a last resort due to how important Tyranitar is to a sandstorm team.

Thunduruspardon me for being lazy efficient and holding off checking this for now X:

Tornadus
Despite having the exact same stats as Thundurus, this PokemonTornadus is largely considered asthe inferior Pokemonto Thundurus. However, there is one thing that Tornadus has that Thundurus would kill for: access to Hurricane, a 120 Base Power Flying-type move. Its otherwise shaky accuracy is not an issue, as it is boosted to 100% accuracywith rain upin the rain, meaning that it is a lot easier to usemaking it much more reliable. Tornadus areisusually seen with the Choice Specs set (Hurricane, Focus Blast, Hidden Power [Ice] or Grass Knot, U Turn) or mixed,can run both a Choice Specs scouting or a mixed attacking set since it has quite a nice set of physical attacks to use with its base 115 Base Attack. Although it is not as threateningless of a threat to Sand teams as Thundurus and Starmie are, Tornadus doalmost always packs Focus Blast, Hammer Arm, or Grass Knot much like Thundurus does, makingso you should think twice about sending in your Tyranitar or Hippowdon against it. The best Pokemon to use against it areSafe switch-ins includespecially defensive Pokemon with a good Special Defensesuch as Jirachi and Chansey orhealthy Blissey / Chanseyat full health. Common Electric-type Pokemon like Rotom-W and Thundurus can also check Tornadus fairly well. Bulky Water-types such as Tentacruel and Jellicent do fairly well against it too, as it doesn't have thelacks Thundurus' powerful STAB Thunderbolt or Thunder that makes Thundurus much more threatening. If you can keep sandstorm on the field, Hurricane’'s accuracy drops to an unreliable 70%, and if you can keep Stealth Rock up, Tornadus loses 25% of its health every time it switches in, which will make Tornadus a lot less threateningrendering it much less of a threat.

Rotom-W
Despite all the other Rotom forms falling out of OU after losing their Ghost typing in this Generation, Rotom’'s Wash form remains a top tier Pokemon. WithIts Water(space)/(space)Electric typing, combines perfectly with its ability Levitate—which givesgrants it an immunity to Ground-type moves,—giving it only one weakness:to Grass-type moves. Rotom-W is another example of a Pokemon that can fully abuse rain, as both of its STAB attacks are boosted by the rain: – Hydro Pump gets 50% more power, and Thunder because 100% accurateperfect accuracy. It is a top threat to sandstorm teams as its STABs and very good bulk allows it to take a few hits and its STABs threaten common sandstorm team members like Landorus, Excadrill, Hippowdon, and Tyranitar. It can also run Choice sets with Trick, allowing it to not only get some surprise KOs but to also cripple defensive Pokemonits common defensive switch-ins. Defensive sets are even harder to take down, as it can use Will-O-Wisp to cripple your physical sweepers and use Pain Split to gain health when needed. Your best bets at stopping Rotom-W are your generic special walls: Ferrothorn, Chansey, Blissey, and Gastrodon, as well as Celebi, Latias, Latios, and Virizion. They all wouldn'twill not appreciate getting hit with Will-O-Wisp or Tricked a Choice item though 3 of them have Natural Cure. Another way to wear it down is by way of damaging status—Toxic or burn—as Rotom-W’'s only reliable way of recovery is Pain Split.

Toxicroak
Despite having poor defences and an only average Attack stat, Toxicroak fits perfectly on any rain team, offering resistances to common attacking types such as Fighting, Bug, Grass, and Rock, as well as being ablethe ability to absorb the Toxic Spikes that wouldcould otherwise plague rain teams. Its main selling point is its ability, Dry Skin, which restores Toxicroak’'s HP when it is hit with Water-type attacks, and grants it an extra 6.25% HP recovery every turn in rain, allowing it to set(space)up on Pokemon that would normally trouble Rain teams such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, Blissey, Tentacruel, and Virizion. Toxicroak is usually seen with a Swords Dance set or Bulk Up set, which utilizes Substitute to block status such as paralysis and burn, and usesruns Drain Punch and Sucker Punch for decent coverage, recovery, and priority. ItThis set is typically beaten by generic physical walls such as Gliscor, Slowbro, and Hippowdon, as theywho can all take a hit or two and threaten toanOHKO it with Earthquake or Psychic, or Roar it out. Other commonly used Pokemon that can beat Toxicroak are Jellicent, Bold Reuniclus, and Roar Latias. Some Toxicroak run Ice Punch to surprise incoming Gliscor and Dragon-types, but since it is incompatible with Drain Punch, you can presume it has itso you need only worry if you see that it hasits Fighting STAB is something other than Drain Punch, like Brick Break or Cross Chop. Though it is not a good idea to bring in your Tyranitar against it, having sandstorm up severely dents its ability to set(space)up with ease and allows you to deal with it better.

Jirachi
Previously forgotten in the past afteroverlooked in all the hype over the new Pokemon fromintroduced in Black and White, Calm Mind Jirachi makes its way back into competitive play with permanent rain reducing damage it takes from Fire attacks as well as being able to fire offgranting it a 100% accurate Thunder, with Serene Grace giving making Thunder have a 60% chance to paralyzewith a 60% chance of paralysis, and a rain-boosted90 Base Power Water Pulse, with Serene Grace giving it a 40% chance to confuseof confusion. This set aims to use Serene Grace to its fullest with the infamous “"parafusion"” combination as well as, like Toxicroak, with its bulky Substitutes allowing it to set(space)up with ease on Pokemon that normally trouble rain teams, such as Ferrothorn, who struggles to break Jirachi’s Substitute and Chansey, and Blissey, due to its 101 HP Substitutes; and lastly,.As a bonus, it also lures out counters to its normal physical sets, such as Gliscor, Jellicent, and Skarmory, only to and hits them with a boosted Water Pulse or Thunder. Though becoming increasingly common now, Calm Mind Jirachi is definitely a threat to unprepared sandstorm teams and it must never be given the opportunity to set(space)up. The three best Pokemon to use against Calm Mind Jirachi are Storm Drain Gastrodon, Unaware Quagsire, and Nasty Plot or Perish Song Celebi and Unaware Quagsireif you're not rephrasing it, add a serial comma after 'Celebi'. Specially defensive Tyranitar can brush off its attacks with ease too but it cannot do much back without Earthquake, which is rare on Specially Defensive variants, and Hippowdon with all its bulk can take a +1 or +2 Water Pulse if at good health and Roar it away, or Earthquake for the 2HKO.

Ninetales
The cornerstone of any sun team, Ninetales unfortunately looks extremely outclassed when comparedin comparison to other weather inducers. As all the other weather inducers, bar Abomasnow, have a severe type advantage over it, the questions arises as to whether it can really have an impact on the weather war or not. The answer is yes.Despite having a marked type disadvantage, it can nonetheless hold its own against other weather inducers in a weather war, and in the hands of a good player, a sun team is a devastating force to be reckoned with. Stealth Rock is essential when playing against sun teams, because Ninetales will takelose 25% damageof its health on every switch-in, aiding you greatly in the weather war. Ninetales has a few notable sets, namely the Calm Mind set, the Specially Defensive set, and the Nasty Plot set. While theyIt can't really do too much damage off of thatan unremarkable 83 Base Special Attack stat, and even with access to Energy Ball and Hidden Power Fighting is walled by Tyranitar in the sand. However, Will-O-Wisp can burn Tyranitar and Hippowdon, cutting their attack and crippling them badly. Even with access to Energy Ball However, Tyranitar with the Special Defense boost from the sand can wall it and threaten to OHKO with Stone Edge.shifted this so it makes more sense structure-wise Hypnosis can be an annoyance if it hits, putting one of your Pokemon to sleepas, with the new sleep mechanics, it can render one of your Pokemon useless for the rest of the match. Faster versions ofAlso note that the standard Ninetales can outspeed Excadrill and OHKO with a sun-boosted Flamethrower, so it’'s not a good idea to keep Excadrill in against Ninetales.

Heatran
Heatran is typically used as a Stealth Rock supporter. However, it also has great offensive capabilities, especially in a sun team, where sun raises the power of its STAB Fire-type attacks by 50% and weakens Water-type attacks by 50%. The main aim of aSun teams with Heatran isusually aim to lure a Fire-type attack aimed atwith a Pokemon such as Venusaur (or a similar Chlorophyll Grass type user)and getto nab the Flash Fire boost for Heatran. You're really not going to enjoy a sun-boosted, STAB, Flash Fire-boosted Fire type move replace with Overheat / Eruption / Fire Blast?fromoff a massive base 130 Special Attack. Heatran isn't too hard for a sand team to handle as long as sandstorm is up, however, as it doesn'(watch the apostrophe)t really have any way of boosting its Special Attack. It can cause a problem for Tyranitar if Tyranitar switches into Earth Power but it doesn’t really have any way of boosting its Special Attack to create havoc. Tyranitar can normally handle any variation of Heatran; just watch out foras long as it doesn't take repeated hits from Earth Power. Specially defensive Hippowdon can also threaten to OHKO it with Earthquake and can use Slack Off to heal any damage taken. Sandstorm teams can utilize their own Heatran to take a Choice-(no space)locked Fire attack and threaten the opposing Heatran with Earth Power. Gastrodon can also walk all over any Heatran without Hidden Power Grass.

Volcarona
Volcarona is one of the deadliest sun sweepers you can findout there. Almost all sun teams run a Pokemon with Rapid Spin to prevent Stealth Rock from ruining their common sweepers, so it is not as easy to check as its double Stealth Rock weakness may imply. Volcarona is one of the few Fire-type Pokemon that is actually dangerous to a sandstorm team. After a Quiver Dance, Volcaronaas it can hitseverely dent Tyranitar with a super effective STAB Bug Buzz and severely dent it. Specially defensive Hippowdon can't really do much to it, as Volcarona’'s unique typing makes it neutral to Earthquake. After 2 Quiver Dances, it outspeeds Jolly Excadrill in the sand and will most probably sweep your entire team. The standard Volcarona used in sun teams is one that utilizes the ChestoRest strategy, healing Volcarona of any prior damage and giving it a second chance to sweep. To deal with Volcarona, it is highly recommended that you try to keep Stealth Rock in play at all times, as Stealth Rock will remove 50% of Volcarona’sthis makes Volcarona instantly lose half its max HP every time it switches in. Heatran can wall it longcomfortably if it doesn't have Hidden Power Ground. If it does, Volcarona is sacrificing recovery through Resta healing moveMorning Sun, meaning that it will not stay alive for as long as it wishes to. Heatran can also Roar it away, forcing it to take more Stealth Rock damage upon switching in again, and rendering it essentially useless if it has already used its Berry. Excadrill in the sand can outspeed +1 Speed Volcarona and OHKO with Rock Slide;. Tentacruel can also check it decently.

Venusaur
Venusaur is probably the best sun sweeper in the current metagame. Having access to Growth, which boosts both its Special Attack and Attack stat by 2 stages in the sun, allowing it to become a powerful special or mixed attacker, and Chlorophyll doubles Venusaur’'s Speed, allowingenabling it to outspeed a very large portion of the metagame. A lot of people are fans of the Special sweeper Venusaur, which uses Giga Drain, Hidden Power Fire or Ice and Sludge Bomb alongside Growth. Whilst thatSpecial sweeping Venusaur can tear holes in many teams with its good coverage and has the capability to hitparticularly hits Tyranitar and Hippowdon hard; however, it is entirely walled by Heatran. The mixed set is more dangerous and harder to check as it can use many moves, as Venusaur can useincluding Earthquake to deal massive damage to the likes of Tyranitar and Heatran. Power Whip can also be used in place of Giga Drain for the extra power, but the loss of recovery will decrease Venusaur’'s longevity is this really relevant though?. The mixed variant is difficult to check because it can use many different attacks.The best thing to do isYour best option will likely be to remove the sunny weather before it sets up. Choice Scarf Tyranitar can do this,and outspeed, and threaten it severely. Without sun, it is a much lesserless of a threat, but with sun up the mixed variant is very difficult to deal with until you know what attacks it is running.

SawsbuckSawsbuck is a physical sweeper, and with access toWChlorophyll and a base 100 Attack stat, itmakes the Season Pokemon can pose a lot of problems when usedpossibly very problematic in a sun team one 'has access to' moves, not abilities or stats, imo. It is almost exclusively seen usingrunning a Swords Dance set, using three of Horn Leech, Jump Kick, Nature Power (which turns into Earthquake in link battles), Return / Frustration, and Wild Charge. Outside of those moves, there isn’t much else Sawsbuck can do. Though it seriously threatens both Tyranitar and Hippowdon, as well as many common sandstorm abusers,it struggles to get past the standard physical walls such as Gliscor and Skarmory, but it threatens both Tyranitar and Hippowdon, as well as many common sandstorm abusers. If you’ve gothave a solid physical wall, then you shouldn’twon't have a huge problem with Sawsbuck.

Darmanitan
Darmanitan has everything it needs to be a threat on a sun team. A Sheer Force- and sun-boosted STAB Flare Blitz coming off of a base 140 Attack will demolish nearly anything that doesn't resist it, and even some that do. Fortunately, this offensive beast has very weak defenses. It does have a fairly nice 95 Base Speed, with which it can take advantage of a Choice Band or Choice Scarf – in fact almost every Darmanitan you’'ll see will probably have a Choice item. It’'s really hard to switch into Darmanitan’'s Flare Blitz, even if you resist itwith resistances. Heatran is immune to Flare Blitz and gets boosted byaFlash Fire boost from Flare Blitz, but it will fall to Superpower. Slowbro does a fairly nice job, but U-turn hurts it. Excadrill can outspeed it and KO if sandstorm is active. Most of the time, Darmanitan will kill itself through Flare Blitz recoil and Stealth Rock damage. Just try and force it to switch, and you should be alright.

Victini
Victini is fairly similar to Darmanitan. Instead of Flare Blitz, you have to takedeal with V-create, a Base 180 Base Power move – and, which is boosted by another 50% in the sun, it does even more damage. Typically, Choice Band or Choice Scarf Victini are the most commonly used variants in Sun teams. Slowbro can take Flare Blitz, but a Fusion Bolt will hurt a lot. Heatran is a decent check to most Victini as they usually lack Focus Blast. AThe rare specially offensive variant can be handled by Tyranitar, so long as it avoids Focus Blast.

The fact that Tyranitar and Excadrill are by far the most common Pokemon in sandstorm teams opens up a wholepossibly severe weakness to Fighting-types. Considering BW introduced some extremely powerful and versatile Fighting-types, this is a grave issue! Often, these will switch into Tyranitar without breaking a sweat. Hence, if your team is using Tyranitar,(as you most likely will),then it is crucial to have teammates to cover for this weakness.

Conkeldurr
Conkeldurr is one of the top threats to a sandstorm team. Its combination of bulk, power, and typing can immediately spells disaster for a sandstorm team if it’s lacking someyou lack appropriate checks, especially as it can recover its health when it attacks. The main reason why this applies to Sandstorm teams is thatThis is a big problem for sandstorm teams because Tyranitar, who is the mostmore prominent Sand Streamerinducersandstorm inducer / Sand Streamer in the current metagame, and Excadrill, who is the most prominent sand sweeper in sandstorm teams, are both massively weak to Fighting-type moves. ItConkeldurr can easily come in on Tyranitar and either threaten to OHKO it or grab a Bulk Up boost and proceed to cause major issuesdestruction. Typically,One of the most common ways of dealing with physical threats is to burn them and lower their Attack to manageable levels. However, Conkeldurr’s ability ishas the Guts ability, which actually boosts Conkeldurr’sits Attack stat if it is hitwhen it is afflicted with a major status condition, such as burn. However, Conkeldurr is not without his checks. Choice Specs Latios can OHKO with Draco Meteor, and both Latias and Latios can set up Calm Mind boosts if Conkeldurr lacks Payback. Reuniclus with its impressive bulk is a good check for Conkeldurr. It has impressive bulk, and it is slower than Conkeldurr, meaning that Payback will not do as muchdo little damage, and it can respond with a powerful STAB Psychic. Gliscor canis also a solid check. It resistsResisting Conkeldurr’'s STAB attacks, itand can take most of what Conkeldurr can throw at it, whilst breakingand break through Conkeldurr’'s defenses thanks to Taunt and Swords Dance. Skarmory can also check it efficiently usingwith Brave Bird and Whirlwind to prevent it from setting up, but it can struggle as it does not resist Drain Punch. One of the most solid checks for Conkeldurr is Slowbro, as itwho like Reuniclus is slower than Conkeldurr, like Reuniclus is, gets instant recovery, has an STAB Psychic to beateliminate Conkeldurr with, and can switch out and recover any lost health it did lose thanks to Regeneration. All of the above Pokemon can work fairly well inon a sandstorm team.

Terrakion
Terrakion is a fairly big threat to sandstorm teams. It outspeeds almost every single sandstorm abuser when unboosted, and if it usesgets off a Rock Polish, it can even outspeed Excadrill in the sand. Furthermore, it can boost its Attack to sky-high levels with Swords Dance, allowing it to power through most of the Pokemon that are used on a sandstorm team with just its powerful STAB moves. It even gets a Special Defense boost from the sandstorm, and can evenalso utilize a Choice Band or Choice Scarf set. However, thanks to Gliscor's high Defense and good typing, TerrakionIt still struggles to get past Gliscor, no matter what set it is running, thanks to Gliscor’s high Defense and decent typing. Reuniclus and Slowbro can both take a hit from Terrakion and respond with a powerful STAB Psychic, or a Scald in Slowbro’s case. Terrakion is also weak to a lot ofmany common priority attacks; Conkeldurr can check it with Mach Punch, Scizor can check it with Bullet Punch, andor Azumarill could check it with Aqua Jet. Hippowdon can take a Close Combat and Earthquake for the KO, and Excadrill can outspeed and KO with Earthquake if Terrakion has not used Rock Polish, but be careful aboutwith Air Balloon variants.

InfernapeDespite greater competition from the many new Fighting-types introduced, Infernape is still a devastating force to be reckoned with. Infernape's versatility is obviously its most dangerous weapon against any team; sandstorm teams are no exceptions. Sporting aequal base 104 Attack and Special Attack stats, it can hard to determine whether Infernape is running a physical, special, or even mixed set. It’s hard to find a counter or check for the mixed version. The physical version can be taken cared of easily by Slowbro and Gliscor and the special version can be handled by Latias, Tentacruel, or a similarother specially defensive Pokemon that resists its STABsFighting and Fire. Slowbro and Gastrodon work really well if it lacks Grass Knot. The mixed version is much harder to counter, but can usually be handled by Slowbro, as Grass Knot is not that popular anymorerare nowadays. Excadrill can survive a Mach Punch at around 80% health and proceed to OHKO with Earthquake, Hippowdon can take it fairly well assuming Infernape lacks Grass Knot, and almost all bulky waters such as Suicune, Jellicent, and Vaporeon can wall it, and proceed to KO it with STAB Water-type moves.

Scrafty
Scrafty is not that powerful, yet's base 90 Attack may seem underwhelming, but it has just enough power to KO what it needs to. Its ability, Shed Skin, makes hitting it with status inflictions near useless. Its offenses are practically nothing when other commonly used Fighting-type Pokemon, but it has, and its brilliant bulk andlets it make good use of its access to excellent set-up moves such as Dragon Dance and Bulk Up. Scrafty’'s movepool and STABs really limits what can check it. Unlike most other Fighting-type Pokemon, it cannot really be walled by Gliscor or Slowbro like other Fighting-type Pokemon can, due toas it [/COLOR] usually carries Ice Punch and STAB Crunch. The problem that Scrafty has is that almostHowever, just about any Fighting-type Pokemon can come in and scare it away or just smash it with their own ana super effective STAB Fighting-type move. Without Dragon Dance, Scrafty is easily outsped due to its mediocre base 58 Speed. Conkeldurr can easily come in at any move before itScraftysets up too muchgains too many boosts, and can set up Bulk Ups or just Drain Punch Scrafty to death. Skarmory is a good defensive check, as a +1 Drain Punch or Hi Jump Kick won’'t hurt it nearly as much as similar attacks from other Fighting-type Pokemon. Hippowdon can Roar Scrafty away, but it cannot really do too much direct damage itself.

LucarioBoastingA Base 110 Attack and a Base 115 Special Attack, and havingas well as access to boosting moves such as Nasty Plot, Swords Dance, and Agility makes Lucario one of the best sweepers in the game from either side of the spectrumboth physically and speciallydon't use 'spectrum'. Whilst its Speed is a fairly average Base 90, it has access to various priority moves, such as Extremespeed, Bullet Punch, and Vacuum Wave. It can seriously threaten almost all members of a sandstorm team and leave its core in pieces if the player doesn't realize what moves the opponent is using.filler sentence imo; if you mean to emphasize its flexibility/ unpredictability find another way to phrase it? Nothing much can hold up well against a Swords Dance Lucario, as even Skarmory takes a hefty chunk of damage from Close Combat. The Physical versions can be walled by either Gliscor or Slowbro and Reuniclus, depending on what filler move Lucario is running alongside Extremespeed, Close Combat and Swords Dance: Ice Punch will make Slowbro's life easy while Gliscor will laugh at Crunch will make Gliscor's life easy. Excadrill can outspeed in sand and beat an ordinary physical version withoutthat lacks Air Balloon since it resists Extremespeed. Gliscor can do fairly well against Nasty Plot Lucario too if it lacks Hidden Power Ice, but it will take a large chunk of damage. Tentacruel and Gastrodon can alsodo fairly well against Nasty Plot Lucario, being able to take a hit or two from Nasty Plot Lucario and try and burn it with Scald, or KO with Earth Power in Gastrodon’'s case. Whilst Blissey and Chansey can paralyze Lucario, making him easier to manage, it will not want tothey cannot take a +2 Aura Spheres at all. Tyranitar cannot stand up to Lucario at all;and Hippowdon struggles to take a +2 Close Combat, and it seriously strugglesHippowdon, too, does not like taking +2 Close Combats, and fares even more poorly against Nasty Plot Lucario.

Virizion
Virizion is an underrated sweeper whichthat can tear huge holes into a sandstorm team. At firstIt may seem like a less powerful Breloom at first sight; but with more Speed and bulk.however, Virizion can run a physical, special, or mixed set, which makes it unpredictably dangerous. Calm Mind Virizion is extremely dangerous for a sandstorm team, since it can kill a lot of things that would usually feature on sandstorm teamsnot only decimates many common sandstorm Pokemon, as well asbut also beats common checks to Fighting-types: Giga Drain beats Jellicent, Gastrodon, and other bulky waters, and it also maimsas well as Hippowdon. Hidden Power Ice would lay waste to Gliscor and Landorus; Focus Blast is the powerfulserves as its mandatory Fighting STAB attack thatand easily beats Tyranitar. What makes things worse is that Excadrill cannot OHKO without a Swords Dance boost, unless it runs the rare and otherwise vastly inferior Aerial Ace, which is a seriously inferior option to the other moves it gets. Physical Virizion is easily walled by Skarmory, since it lacks the raw physical power other Fighting-types do. Gliscor can also beat purely physical Virizion, but mixed Virizion runsvariants run Hidden Power Ice, which ruins Gliscor. Calm Mind Virizion can struggle to get the best of Latios and Latias, but without a Psychic-type attack, they won’'t do too much damage back. Liquid Ooze Tentacruel is one of the best checks to specially offensive Virizion, as it damages Virizion receives damage when it uses Giga Drain. In return, itTentacruel can burn it with Scald and slowly drain its health.

Breloom
Breloom can not only threaten a sandstorm team with its powerful attacks, but it can also shut down a Pokemon with ease thanks to Spore. It gets the Poison Heal ability, and most players runequipping it with a Toxic Orb on it tosimultaneouslypreventprotects it from status and allows it to regain HP at the same time, which can cause a problem if you’re trying to inflict a status on Breloom. Most sandstorm teams use Toxic Orb Poison Heal Gliscor with its Poison Heal as it cannot be put to sleep if it is poisoned, and it can otherwise put a full stop to Breloom as it cannot be put to sleep after it is poisoned. Other great checks to Breloom are Reuniclus, Latias, Celebi, Sigilyph, Deoxys-D, Mew, and Xatu. They're all able to All resist Breloom's incredibly powerful Focus Punch attack and can KO back with a Psychic-type move. However, all of thatthey require an additional Pokemon to take Spore for them, except Xatu, which uses its Magic Bounce ability to bouncereflect Breloom's Spore attack onto itself, which is a great way to stop Breloom if it lacks Toxic Orb or if Toxic Orb has not activated yet.

Mienshao
Mienshao is mostly usedtypically seen as a Fake Out lead. It’'s frail, fast, and powerful, and has access to a great ability, Regeneration. Normally it is only seen using the sameIt almost always runs a standard set, which usesof Fake Out, Hi Jump Kick, U-turn, and Hidden Power Ice with a Life Orb. It has the access to Swords Dance, although itbut is largely outclassed in this role and hence rarely seen. But in a lead position it will almost 90% of the time have the above mentioned set.Though Hi Jump Kick willcan hurt most of your sand team. But in truth, Mienshao is by and large one of the easier Pokemon to check. Excadrill can come in on anything but Hi Jump Kick toand OHKO it with a powerful STAB Earthquake. Gliscor can't handle the standard variant because of Hidden Power Ice, but without Hidden Power, Gliscor is a great check to Mienshao lacking Hidden Power Ice. Slowbro beats Mienshao easily, but U-turn will hurt a bit. Arguably the greatest counter to Mienshao would beis Jellicent, as it is immune to Hi Jump Kick and Fake Out, resists both U-turn and Hidden Power Ice, and it can burn with Scald or Will-O-Wisp, and Recover any damage. Hippowdon handles Mienshao well, as itMienshao struggles to do much damage to it, whereaswhile Hippowdon can respond with Earthquake.

Machamp
Machamp is a very annoying Pokemon to deal with. Thanks to No Guard, DynamicPunch is always going towill always hit and cause confusion. Only Ghost types can avoid this, and theyslower ones in particular can check Machamp fairly well thanks to Payback not being entirely reliable. It has a variety of coverage moves including Ice Punch, Stone Edge, Bullet Punch, and the aforementioned Payback. Gliscor deals well with variants lacking Ice Punch. Reuniclus and Slowbro can shut Machamp down completely with STAB Psychic, or Scald in Slowbro's case, with Reuniclus beating it with a powerful Psychic, and Slowbro either burning with Scald or hitting with Psychic.

While most Rotom formes lost its OU status upon losing its Ghost-typing, Rotom-W was able to retain its OU status for a good reason. Water / Electric is a fantastic typing, both offensively and defensively. It gives Rotom-W only one rare weakness in Grass, while providing excellent dual-STAB that nothing bar Grass-types and Gastrodon resist. It also has handy access to Wil-o-wisp to cripple the most common Grass-type, Ferrothorn. In fact, Rotom-W is deceptively bulky with Will-o-wisp and Pain Split, even with little defensive investment. Another plus of Rotom-W is that it is very difficult for rain teams to handle—it has resistances to Hydro Pump and Hurricane, while only taking neutral damage from Thunder. After tanking a strong hit, Rotom-W can recover with Pain Split, or retaliate with a strong Thunderbolt that most likely hits the majority of the opposing rain team super effective.

I deeply apologize for the work that should have been done on this that has not been yet. sirndpt's check is very good, please implement it. I am implementing it as a sort of half check right now. Let's say it's 1/3. The 1 is that checK; THE THIRD IS ME. I actually have half of it done; but I don't want to reformat the entire thing. Don't worry; it won't be a big deal. Just send me a message when you're ready, and it'll be done actually ASAP.

Scizor
Scizor usually come in two variants, Swords Dance or Choice Band. Choice Band Scizor is deadly, as nothing is immune to U-turn, which gives Scizor the upper hand as it can switch straight out to a check. Swords Dance Scizor can easily sweep a sandstorm team without an appropriate check. However, Scizor has one major problem: a 4x weakness to Fire-type moves. Pokemon such as Heatran and Infernape can easily check Scizor and force him to switch, but they have to watch out for Superpower from Choice Band Scizor. Steel types such as Skarmory and Magnezone can also come in on STAB Bullet Punch and Bug Bite and effectively set up on Scizor as well. Skarmory can Whirlwind Scizor away while not taking too much damage, and Magnezone can trap Scizor and kill it with Hidden Power Fire. Gyarados resists pretty much anything Scizor does, and it can Roar or Dragon Tail it away, or just set up a Dragon Dance. Hippowdon can Roar Scizor away if it tries to set up a Swords Dance.

Excadrill
Excadrill is one of the greatest assets to a sandstorm team, but it's also the most threatening thing to be matched up against. With its Sand Rush ability, it can outspeed almost every Pokemon in the metagame, including most of a sandstorm team. With access to moves such as Earthquake, Swords Dance, X-Scissor, Rock Slide, and Brick Break, it is able to come in and sweep entire teams that are not prepared for its destructive force. Gliscor is a solid counter, being able to switch in to any of its moves and hitting back hard with Earthquake. Fighting-type Pokemon such as Conkeldurr and Infernape can threaten Excadrill with Mach Punch, while Skarmory can effectively take many of Excadrill's attacks and easily Whirlwind him away.

Dragonite
Dragonite has become one of the top dragons this Generation, finally outclassing its younger brother Salamence. Its new ability Multiscale reduces damage by 50% when it has full HP, and in conjunction with Roost, makes Dragonite one hard dragon to take down. Dragonite has many possible sets, but the three main variations are Specially Offensive, Dragon Dance, and Bulky Phazer. Specially offensive Dragonite is more often seen on Rain teams as Dragonite can take advantage of a 100% accurate Hurricane and Thunder. Dragon Dance variations focus on taking advantage of Multiscale to get a free Dragon Dance and proceed to sweep with some selection of ExtremeSpeed, Outrage, Fire Punch, and Earthquake. Defensively, bulky phazer sets take full advantage of Multiscale by coupling it with Roost. Other moves often seen on this set are Substitute and Thunder Wave, while Dragon Tail phazes the opponent. As for countering it, Stealth Rock nullifies the effects of Multiscale, making Dragonite much easier to KO. Special walls such as Chansey and Blissey can easily take on specially offensive versions of Dragonite. Dragon Dance versions can be a lot harder to handle, but Pokemon such as Gliscor and Ferrothorn can come in and scare it away with Ice Fang or Gyro Ball. Bulky phazer sets can be a nuisance, but the only way they can rack up damage is with entry hazards set up, so Rapid Spin users such as Starmie can spin away hazards and attack with Ice Beam while absorbing Thunder Wave with Natural Cure.

Latios and Latias
The dynamic duo are probably two of the strongest specially based Dragon-types in the metagame. Latios can hit hard with Choice Specs and Trick it onto incoming tanks while Latias, being more defensively based, is one of the best Calm Mind users in the game. Unfortunately, these Dragons fall prey to the most common Pokemon on sand teams: Tyranitar. Tyranitar can switch into either Dragon-type and trap it with Pursuit. Blissey can tank Draco Meteors from even Choice Specs Latios and heal up, while Scizor and Ferrothorn can come in on Calm Mind Latias and threaten it with U-turn or Gyro Ball.

Haxorus
Haxorus used to be a laughingstock of the early BW metagame because of its unfortunate speed tier, but don't be fooled; this dragon can be your worst enemy if you are not prepared. With base 147 Attack coupled with either Mold Breaker or Rivalry, Haxorus can destroy some of the sturdiest physical walls in the OU metagame. Choice Banded Outrage with a Rivalry boost is a clean 2HKO on Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Haxorus also has access to Dragon Dance to fix its rather low base 97 Speed and Swords Dance to boost its Attack to astronomical levels. Because there is no virtually no Pokemon that can tank Haxorus's assaults with a Choice Band or after a Dragon Dance, the key to stopping Haxorus is by revenging it while it's locked on Outrage or by wearing it down with priority moves.

Hydreigon
Hydreigon is one of the new specially based dragons introduced this Generation. With a wide choice of moves ranging from Dark Pulse to Focus Blast to Flamethrower, it can be pretty hard on sand teams if you're not carrying the appropriate checks and counters. One of its flaws is its rather low speed. With only base 98 Speed, it falls just two points short of the base 100 Speed tier, losing to a multitude of common offensive Pokemon. Hydreigon tend to carry Choice Scarf or Choice Specs, allowing it to deal heavy damage and then switch out, but it can be a good wallbreaker with Life Orb or Expert Belt too, beating for example the common stall core of Ferrothorn + Jellicent. Special walls such as Chansey and Blissey can easily switch into whatever Hydreigon can dish out and tank the attack. Hydreigon is also part Dark-type, which makes it weak to Fighting-type Pokemon such as Conkeldurr and Terrakion.

Jellicent
Jellicent is one of the top specially defensive walls in today's metagame, and for good reason. It has access to both Will-O-Wisp and Toxic, has access to instant recovery and Water Absorb, and can act as a spinblocker. With such assets, Jellicent is a huge threat to any sandstorm team. Jellicent usually packs moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Scald, Recover, or Taunt, making it a very versatile wall. Even so, Jellicent has a number of counters that can scare it away. Pokemon such as Celebi, Toxic Orb Breloom, and Magic Guard Reuniclus can come in and absorb status while potentially setting up on it. Physical attackers such as Tyranitar can try to come in too but must always be wary of Will-O-Wisp.

Landorus
Unlike the other genies, who are often found on Rain teams, Landorus thrives primarily in sand because of its typing and ability Sand Force, which allows all of its Ground- and Rock- type moves to be boosted by 30%. While this may seem like an insignificant boost, moves such as Earthquake, which gain a further STAB boost, now have the power to devastate foes that it could not before. This free 1.3% bonus can even be extended by the likes of attack boosting items such as Choice items and Life Orb. Landorus is unique in that while his fellow genies are faster, Landorus gives up that extra speed for amazing offensive stats, both physically and specially. With a whooping 125 base attack, and a 115 base special attack, Landorus is definitely no pushover. Although its physical attack may be higher, it has the option to use moves such as Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice to suprise foes and nab kills on common switch-ins such as Gliscor.While Landorus is commonly found using either a physical Life Orb set or a Choice Scarf / Band set to take advantage of its amazing Attack, it also has the option of moves such as Earth Power, Focus Blast, and Hidden Power Ice to surprise foes and nab kills on common switch-ins such as Gliscor. Some of Landorus's checks include Pokemon such as Rotom-W and Gyarados that can come in and dodge an Earthquake, forcing it to switch out, but Stone Edge does huge damage to both. Physically bulky Pokemon such as Gliscor and Skarmory can pretty much counter most physical sets.

ForretressandSkarmory
Forretress and Skarmory are among the best layers of entry hazards: while Skarmory can set up hazards and phaze out enemies with Whirlwind, Forretress can set up hazards alongside foes and easily spin them away. Both these Pokemon are huge threats to sand teams because they can set up hazards and rack up damage quite quickly. They also both come with one of the most annoying abilities this generation, Sturdy, which given their immunity to Sandstorm virtually guarantees that they stay alive for at least two turns. These two Pokemon share similiar weaknesses though. For one, they are both extremely weak to Fire-type attacks, and if you have a spinner on your team, they're pretty much useless. Electric- and Fire-type attacks can pretty much take down Skarmory, but it's usually paired with a sturdy special wall such as Blissey, as is Forretress. Mixed attackers such as Infernape can easily break this core; Reuniclus can fare well against the two as well, taking no residual damage and attacking back with Focus Blast.

Building a sandstorm team is pretty easy. You want to start with a Pokemon that has the Sand Stream ability; Tyranitar or Hippowdon are your only two choices. Tyranitar has great defenses, but its Special Defense particularly stands out due to Sandstorm boosting its Special Defense by 50%. Hippowdon's strong point, conversely, is its physical bulk, which consists of an awesome base 118 Defense and a very good base 108 HP. It depends on what you need your support to do for your team: Tyranitar can check Latios, Latias, and Reuniclus; Hippowdon can check Excadrill and other tough physical sweepers. Both Tyranitar and Hippowdon are able to set up Stealth Rock. As previously mentioned, you could even run both Tyranitar and Hippowdon on your team if you wanted to.

There are essentially three offensive Pokemon that benefit directly from the sandstorm: Excadrill, Landorus, and Terrakion. A good sandstorm team would have one or two of these offensive Pokemon, as having too many would just weaken your team too much against Water-types and rain teams. Sand Rush doubles Excadrill's Speed in the sandstorm, making it an excellent sweeper with Swords Dance and STAB Earthquake. Excadrill can also use Rapid Spin to support your team if your team is weak against entry hazards. Excadrill is basically an excellent sweeper, spinner, and revenge killer for a sandstorm team. Landorus hits like a truck without any boost required, thanks to Sand Force raising the power of its Ground-, Steel-, and Rock-type moves by 30% in the sandstorm. Unlike Excadrill, this guy gets access to a much stronger Rock-type move (Stone Edge) and is not walled by Gliscor, thanks to Hidden Power Ice and a usable base 115 Special Attack, though Landorus is not as fast as Excadrill. It does have access to Rock Polish to make up for that though, as well as Swords Dance to further boost its Attack. Terrakion is another great sweeper in the sandstorm, with solid defenses further boosted by the 50% Special Defense buff thanks to sandstorm. Unlike Landorus, Terrakion takes full advantage of its Rock / Fighting typing, enjoying great neutral coverage with powerful STAB Close Combat and Stone Edge. It is faster than Landorus but slower than Excadrill, but it can boost its Speed with Rock Polish, making it even faster than Excadrill. All three of these offensive threats get access to Swords Dance, making them even more dangerous.

With Tyranitar or Hippowdon and Excadrill, Terrakion, or Landorus forming the core of your sandstorm team, you will need to cover your team's weaknesses, and make sure you can stop common threats and provide good offensive synergy as well. Many sandstorm abusers, including all the abovementioned Pokemon, are weak to Water-type moves, which means we have to choose some Pokemon that can take Water-type moves from the likes of Rotom-W and Starmie. Pokemon like Celebi or Gastrodon are great choices to stop Water-types. Celebi has Natural Cure, allowing it to shrug off status and defeat Rotom-W or Jellicent, and it also resists Grass- and Fighting-type moves, common weaknesses amongst sandstorm teams. Gastrodon's Water / Ground typing and Storm Drain ability grants it immunities to both Water- and Electric-typed attacks, so it's easily able to beat the aforementioned threats.

Entry hazards is another common and very useful form of team support. Your Sand Streamer, Tyranitar or Hippowdon, can further provide your team with Stealth Rock support. If you wish to have a Spikes supporter, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Forretress, or Deoxys-D are all great options. Dragon-type moves hurt almost every Pokemon that isn’t a Steel-type, so having a Steel-type wall would greatly benefit your sandstorm team; as a bonus, Steel-types are immune to sandstorm damage as well. Jirachi can support your team with Wish and to check Gengar, whose Shadow Ball and Focus Blast combo can be problematic for a common sandstorm team. Blissey and Chansey are also great Wish supporters who can additionally provide paralysis support as well as Heal Bell support. Blissey, Chansey, and Specially Defensive Jirachi are all able to take on special attacking Water-types as well, making them excellent supporting Pokemon on a sandstorm team.

ScarfTar is really underrated in this metagame. It's able to check some of the top special attackers such as Lati@s, Starmie, and the genies, all common Pokemon on Drizzle teams. ScarfTar also gives me an early advantage against DS Shell Smash teams as they'll usually lead with Espeon in the hopes of getting screens up, only to be outsped and OHKOed. Sun basically has no chance unless they run the rare Sub Chandelure to lure me in. Superpower is chosen over Ice Beam or something in order to hit Ferrothorn as well as Terrakion and other Tyranitar.

Excadrill is my revenge killer to the many problems this team has against threats such as Volcarona, Cloyster, Dragon Dance Dragonite, Haxorus, Salamence, and so on. Excadrill not only fixes all those problems, but also allows me to nullify all entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Swords Dance coupled with Earthquake and Rock Slide provides great coverage. Excadrill also resists Thunder Wave and Toxic, making it a great Pokemon to switch in on status users like Blissey and set up.

Skarmory sets up the Spikes that make Latias that much more threatening. I'm able to bring Skarmory in on a wide range of physical attackers, forcing them out and giving me a free turn to Spike. Skarmory's greatest contribution to this team, however, is being a hard stop to the most threatening sand sweepers in the metagame: Excadrill and Landorus. Thanks to a huge investment in Defense and an Impish nature neither of these threats is able to do more than 50% even at +2! It's always a tough choice in deciding between Brave Bird and Taunt, but I really hate facing a last mon Excadrill, since Heatran won't always have his Air Balloon intact. 16 Speed EVs have actually helped a lot when facing Pokemon that aim to reach the 177 Spe mark. Pokemon such as bulky Breloom, Jellicent, and CB Tyranitar. I've thought about Shed Shell multiple times but I'm usually able to play around Magnezone teams anyway as they're so intent upon trapping Skarmory that Terrakion can often come in and spam Close Combat / Stone Edge. make it Female so you don't get screwed over by Rivalry Haxorus ;)

This set is amazing. Latias usually cleans up late in the battle as constant Roaring keeps Jirachi and Tyranitar wary of switching in, and they are generally weakened by this point anyway. I generally bring Latias in on a slower special attacker such as Celebi, Rotom-W, or Jellicent, and proceed to Calm Mind. From there the opponent is forced to decide whether to switch and take Spikes + Stealth Rock damage or stay in and risk letting me set up even more. Latias is one of the very few good Reuniclus checks out there. Though it does have trouble with Offensive Trick Room variants, it can at least Roar them out. With max HP, Latias even has some nice physical bulk. The standard Stealth Rock Tyranitar can't OHKO with Crunch, which means even if I guess wrong and they Pursuit, Latias can come back in later. Gyarados also can't KO with Bounce, giving me a check outside of Skarmory, which is always nice due to Taunt / Dragon Tail on Gyarados.

There are only so many viable Stealth Rock users in BW, and since I was running Choice Scarf Tyranitar I had to look for alternative options. Bronzong and Ferrothorn were redundant with Skarmory; I also wanted some offensive presence and a way to make Forretress think twice about switching in and spinning my hazards away. Air Balloon is nice as it gives me another check to the sand sweepers in case they run Magnezone or something. Hidden Power Ice is so great for catching Salamence on the switch or checking Gliscor if it managed to grab a SD. This guy here is also a great switch-in to Taunt + WoW Mew which is sooooo annoying.

"omg bulky water switch-in that doesn't mind a scald burn??" Yeah that was basically why Celebi was put on the team at first. It does work well with the rest of my team though: Tyranitar takes care of the Latis which ruin my day, and together with Heatran I have the solid CeleTran combo that was popular during 4th Gen. Anyway this is a set that's been gaining in popularity recently and with good reason: it comes in on a bulky water, grabs an NP boost and can severely damage a team from there. I know some people prefer to run max Speed, but I've always preferred the bulk since it makes Celebi much more of a threat once it gets an NP boost. This set is walled by Haxorus and Hydreigon anyway so the Speed wouldn't help there. Very few base 100s run max Speed anyway so I just threw enough speed in there to beat Jolly Tyranitar, however rare they may be. Celebi helps Latias to an extent to since it lures and weakens Ferrothorn, Jirachi, Scizor, Tyranitar, etc.

Conclusion
Well, that was a lot to cover! Hopefully this guide gave a general understanding of sandstorm teams, and even helped you build a successful sand team of your own or better prepare for an opposing sand team. Sandstorm is the most common weather in the metagame for a very good reason. If you want a balanced team with an offensive punch, get out there and try a sandstorm team: it will not disappoint.

you missed out in the intro of SS that sand rush also prevent dmg
I mean the part that says "All non-Rock-, Steel-, and Ground-type Pokemon and Pokemon without the ability Magic Guard, Sand Veil, or Overcoat take 1/16 damage at the end of every turn."

And also, why no mention of CB Stoutland? That thing gets more kills than Excadril on my team.

Yup... it happened. Now that Excadrill and Garchomp are both gone, what's the only sand abuser... Landorus and... Stoutland? Expect many changes, and don't hesitate to suggest some. TBH, I'm pretty stuck on how to advance.

I'm pretty sure that now fighting-types don't even have to be highlighted as too big of a concern now that the best abuser resists Fighting-types. Then there's the question of "is sandstorm even viable anymore, other than that anti-Sun & Rain presence" now that balanced sand teams lost their best sweeper and spinner.

I definitely don't see sandstorm going anywhere; it's always really been more anti-rain/ sun than its own dedicated weather (at least since Garchomp's ban and chompy functioned on just about any team, really) and having an article for players looking to specialize their team a bit more is definitely helpful imo. and if nothing else, sand stall's really quite viable too.

but what I wonder is if Excadrill may be retested following the release of DW Breloom - if so it might be more trouble than it's worth to rewrite the entire article.

I definitely don't see sandstorm going anywhere; it's always really been more anti-rain/ sun than its own dedicated weather (at least since Garchomp's ban and chompy functioned on just about any team, really) and having an article for players looking to specialize their team a bit more is definitely helpful imo. and if nothing else, sand stall's really quite viable too.

but what I wonder is if Excadrill may be retested following the release of DW Breloom - if so it might be more trouble than it's worth to rewrite the entire article.

Click to expand...

Not only did sand suddenly become the anti-weather of BW, but it has always been there as an afterthought, just that thing that slowly chips away at everything on your team who don't resist it. Maybe the article should focus more on sand defense (stall, the auto SpD boost for Rock-types) and have a small section regarding sand offense (Landorus, Stoutland, and Reuniclus since it's immune and the opponent suffers).

I'm not dead yet! OK now considering that Sand is the anti-weather, I don't think we have to consider the opposing weathers as 'threats' technically... I mean you use a sand team so that you fare better against rain and sun. That means that it's less of a threat! (logic prevails) This means that I can significantly cut down on the material, and use the additional space to cover UU Sandstorm.

I'm almost there for the grammar, finally figured out how to CP stuff onto Word =] I just need the spacings fixed up (which always happens when you CP stuff from website to Word) and I'll be there in no time!

EDIT:

Hide(Move your mouse to the hide area to reveal the content)Show HideHide Hide

Needs Content Edits

Introduction

In the 3rd and 4th Generations, sandstorm was a common field condition. However, this was mainly because Tyranitar and to a lesser extent Hippowdon, were common threat in the metagame. In the 5th Generation, sandstorm receives some major offensive buffs. With the advent of sweepers such as Landorus and Excadrill, sandstorm has evolved from an annoying battle condition to a dominant playstyle.

Enter Garchomp and Excadrill ban. After the dynamic duo of sandstorm abusers were sent to Ubers, sandstorm is now relegated to an anti-weather role, a possible source of passive damage that is useful for checking weather-reliant threats such as Tornadus and Venusaur. Even without the main abusers, sandstorm remains a viable option for many teams. This guide will focus on utilizing the beneficial effects of sandstorm to your advantage, and retaining the advantage against opposing weather conditions. After reading this guide, you will gain all the knowledge necessary to build and play with your own sandstorm team.

Sandstorm basics

Sandstorm can be brought onto the field in two ways. The first—and generally inferior—method is using the move Sandstorm; this type of sandstorm will last up to five turns. The held item Smooth Rock lengthens the duration of this sandstorm to eight turns. The more common method is using Pokemon with the ability Sand Stream, an ability that casts a permanent sandstorm upon the field until the weather is changed. This guide will focus on the latter type of sandstorm.

The Sand Streamers

Any successful sandstorm team needs a Sand Streamer. Although only Hippowdon and Tyranitar possess this ability, both of them are great choices and can be easily incorporated into a team. Sandstorm is also the only weather condition with two OU-viable permanent summoners. However, with few sandstorm abusers left, there is no need to desperately control the weather using two Pokemon with adverse synergy.

Tyranitar

Tyranitar is rightfully the more common Sand Streamer. The Special Defense boost effectively bumps Tyranitar's BST to a staggering 670, rivaling that of common Ubers. Good stats across the board allow Tyranitar to be a versatile threat. The common mixed set with Stealth Rock can support sandstorm sweepers by luring in physical walls and weakening them. Stealth Rock provides another source of passive damage, while a movepool that includes Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Crunch, Superpower, and Stone Edge allows Tyranitar to be a true offensive juggernaut on its own. Choice Band Tyranitar is another viable set that can spell disaster to teams that expect a weaker Tyranitar. It also has significant all-around bulk to easily switch in and fire off a devastating attack. Pursuit also has much utility to cripple Ghost-, Psychic-types, and opposing weather starters. Choice Scarf Tyranitar is also viable on defensive teams as a secondary special wall, revenge killer and glue for a team.

However, Tyranitar's typing leaves it with multiple weaknesses to common attacking types. Fighting-types such as Scrafty or Conkeldurr can easily switch in, threaten Tyranitar with an OHKO, and find setup opportunities. As a result, any team using Tyranitar needs a reliable Fighting-type check like Gliscor, Slowbro, or Skarmory. Tyranitar also has trouble walling strong special attackers because it is weak to common special attacking types, particularly Water and Grass. A weakness to Earthquake also leaves it vulnerable to opposing sandstorm sweepers such as Landorus. Despite these glaring weaknesses, Tyranitar is a strong Pokemon on its own, and a good team supporter with its ability Sand Stream.

Hippowdon

A frequently overlooked choice, the sand hippopotamus is nonetheless a very viable option. With its excellent base HP and Defense, Hippowdon continues to be a premier physical wall in the Black and White metagame. While most Tyranitar-based sandstorm teams have a weakness to opposing sandstorm sweepers, Hippowdon is a solid stop to most physical attackers. It has a wealth of support options such as Stealth Rock, Roar, and Toxic, as well as a reliable recovery move in Slack Off. Moreover, Hippowdon is no slacker in the offensive department. Possessing an above-average base Attack of 112, its attacks pack a surprising punch even without investment. It can even run a Choice Band set for surprise value.

As a defensive Pokemon, Hippowdon's significantly weaker Special Defense stat stands out as a major flaw. Hippowdon can usually solve this issue by running a specially defensive spread that allows it to easily switch in on Ninetales, mixed Tyranitar, and other common threats. Still, strong special threats like Rotom-W and Politoed can OHKO Hippowdon even with maximum Special Defense investment, so a special wall such as Blissey is recommended for all teams using Hippowdon. Hippowdon can also force multiple switches with its bulk and Roar, so Spikes support is helpful too. Despite its low usage, Hippowdon is by no means a pushover, and with proper support can form part of a strong defensive core.

Sandstorm Playstyles

Sandstorm teams are highly regarded for their flexibility, thanks to the large variety of abusers and sandstorm setters. While most weather teams have only one weather starter, sandstorm teams get to choose between the defensive Hippowdon and the offensive Tyranitar, or even both for more chances to keep the sandstorm raging. With many sweepers that perform well in sandstorm, offensive sandstorm teams are not to be easily dismissed. These teams usually have Pokemon with abilities that boost their stats in sandstorm. These teams also make use of the secondary damage to any walls that are not of Steel-, Ground-, or Rock-type, removing their Leftovers recovery and pressuring them into using recovery moves more often. Easy access to Stealth Rock support from Tyranitar and Hippowdon is another advantage of sandstorm teams.

Due to the residual damage caused by sandstorm, stall teams may also employ sand setters on their teams. Sand stall teams work by abusing sandstorm 's residual damage while setting up entry hazards like a normal stall team. Both Hippowdon and Tyranitar are great defensive Pokemon capable of using Stealth Rock; also, Toxic Spikes are notorious for accumulating secondary damage. Stall teams can also make good use of Rock-types' Special Defense buff in order to sponge attacks from powerful special attackers.

However, most sand teams are balanced. This is explained partly by the fact that sandstorm is not as easy to offensively abuse as sun or rain. Sun grants offensive boosts to Fire-types and Chlorophyll Pokemon, and rain to Water- and Electric-types, as well as Swift Swim Pokemon. Sandstorm, on the other hand, does not directly boost the offenses of all but one OU Pokemon. As a result, many sand teams only have a single sandstorm sweeper, supported by a strong defensive core to gradually weaken the opponent with sandstorm, entry hazards, and crippling statuses. Entry hazards are also crucial in wearing down the opposing weather inducer and maintaining the weather advantage. Only after the opposing core is severely weakened would such teams attempt a sweep. These teams will often have a combination of Pokemon recommended for offensive and defensive sand teams.

With all these different types of teams, which Pokemon are the best choices for your sandstorm team? Below is a list of Pokemon that any sand team should consider.

Offensive Sandstorm

Only a few Pokemon are capable of making full use of sandstorm to change a game–but don't fret, because these unique few are some of the greatest sweepers in BW. You are virtually guaranteed to see at least one of them on any offensive sandstorm team due to their immense sweeping potential. The following key abusers of sandstorm are great choices to keep in mind when constructing a sandstorm team.

Excadrill
Ban'd

Landorus

Landorus lacks the raw power to muscle through physical walls, but it is a deadly sweeper in sandstorm. Its ability, Sand Force, boosts its Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves by 30% in sandstorm. While this boost is smaller than the 50% boost that Sun or Rain grant, it is just enough for Landorus. In fact, the fact that Landorus does not depend entirely on sandstorm makes it an appealing choice. It has a fantastic 101 base Speed, and it can serve as a Choice Scarf scout with U-turn or a boosting sweeper with Swords Dance or Rock Polish.

While outsped by common Ground-immunes such as Gengar and Latios, Landorus is a versatile offensive threat. Thanks to its above-average Special Attack, Landorus can run a mixed set with a Hidden Power of choice to beat physical walls such as Gliscor or Skarmory. It also remains as the only viable user of the move Smack Down to strip Skarmory, Rotom-W, and Bronzong of their Ground immunity to hit them hard with Sand Force boosted, STAB, and super effective Earthquake for major damage. With so many tricks up its sleeve, Landorus is very hard to counter. Revenge killing such as with priority is the most reliable ways to check this monstrous threat, but a generic physical wall or an EdgeQuake resist will usually be enough.

Terrakion
Terrakion is an example of a Pokemon that has everything necessary for a sweeper. Dual STAB of Fighting and Rock provide it with near-flawless coverage. Its exceptional 108 base Speed additionally allows it to outspeed most of the OU metagame. Terrakion is therefore a good user of Choice Band or Choice Scarf thanks to its fantastic coverage and great speed. It also has access to two great boosting moves in Swords Dance and Rock Polish. Because its STAB attacks are so powerful, Terrakion can even afford to pack both Swords Dance and Rock Polish into its Double Dance set, and use the boosting move appropriate to the opponent's team. Although sandstorm does not directly boost Terrakion's offenses, Terrakion does appreciate the Special Defense boost. In sandstorm, Terrakion can boost its stats in relative safety and proceed to sweep. Sadly, weaknesses to common priority moves such as Mach Punch, Bullet Punch, and Aqua Jet means that Terrakion is easily revenged. Still, it is a very powerful sweeper that can easily turn the tide of a game.

Other Sandstorm Sweepers

Immunity to sandstorm is a huge boon to many offensive Pokemon in sandstorm teams. Sources of passive damage abound in the BW metagame: sandstorm and Life Orb damage can very quickly take their toll, especially on top of Stealth Rock and Spikes damage. While these Pokemon do not benefit immensely from sandstorm, they are not harmed by it either. Still, residual damage from sandstorm removes Leftovers recovery, turning some 3HKOs to 2HKOs. What sweeper doesn't appreciate that?

Magnezone

Magnezone's unique ability, Magnet Pull, enables it to trap and remove the Steel-type walls like Skarmory and Bronzong that are commonly used to check sandstorm sweepers such as Landorus. Sandstorm sweepers have few airtight counters, so Pokemon that can easily eliminate these troublesome obstacles are very welcome. It can serve as a revenge killer with a Choice Scarf equipped, or run a Charge Beam set to boost its Special Attack on said trapped Steels. Ultimately, though, Magnezone is a rather one-dimensional Pokemon; after all Steel-types are removed, Magnezone can attempt to tank with its multiple resistances, or—more realistically—serve as death fodder.

Scizor
Scizor hasn't changed one bit from DPP, and it is still incredibly effective at what it does. STAB Choice Band Technician-boosted Bullet Punch off base 130 Attack is no less devastating, and U-turn is as useful as ever. While the advent of Team Preview has reduced the need for scouting, U-turn is a very safe option that does hefty damage to common threats such as Tyranitar and Reuniclus while retaining offensive momentum. Scizor can also trap troublesome foes such as Gengar and Latias, putting them into a checkmate position with the dual threat of Bullet Punch and Pursuit. Scizor can also sweep with a Swords Dance set, abusing its strong priority to plow through teams while unhindered by Choice Scarf users and faster Pokemon. Even with lackluster STAB walled by several common Pokemon, Scizor manages to make the best out of them with exceptional utility and sheer power.

Lucario
Lucario is hands down one of the most versatile sweepers in BW OU. With access to a variety of boosting moves such as Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Agility, it can sweep in many different ways. You may even find your opponent switching in a counter to the wrong variant, allowing Lucario to boost twice. All Lucario desperately need residual damage, however: Swords Dance and Nasty Plot sets require prior damage on anything that outspeeds it at 90 base Speed, while Agility sets struggle to dent defensive walls without help from its teammates. Lucario also appreciates Tyranitar removing bulky Psychic-types and faster Ghost-types. Nevertheless, Lucario is an excellent choice for any sandstorm team looking for strong priority and a lategame sweeper.

Heatran
Due to its unique typing, Heatran can be a very valuable addition to a sandstorm team, with its Fire STAB incinerating opposing Steel-type physical walls that often trouble sandstorm teams. Heatran also possesses other offensive options such as Earth Power, Dragon Pulse, and a choice of Hidden Power. Its support moves include Roar, Taunt, Toxic, as well as Stealth Rock, and a specially defensive set can be viable in a defensively oriented team with its valuable Dragon resistance. Heatran is very versatile, and it can use Choice Scarf, Air Balloon, or Substitute to great effect. Note that Heatran is in general a great check to Drought teams, and is therefore a great choice for sandstorm teams that struggle against sun.

Reuniclus
Reuniclus is a natural fit on many sandstorm teams as its ability, Magic Guard, protects it from residual damage. Since most sandstorm sweepers are physically based, Reuniclus can provide a nice offensive balance as well as type diversity to sandstorm teams. Instant recovery and avaluable Fighting resist also helps it check troublesome Pokemon such as Conkeldurr. With access to Calm Mind and Trick Room along with great natural bulk, Reuniclus also has no problem sweeping. Offensive Trick Room variants do well against opposing offensive teams, while a bulky Calm Mind set can single-handedly destroy a stall team.

Metagross
The transition from DPP to BW brought solely disappointment for Metagross. The nerf to Explosion meant that Metagross lost one of its best moves, while the advent of Team Preview did no favors for a Pokemon that once enjoyed consistent top-ten usage as a lead. Still, Metagross is perfect if you desire a Pokemon that can tank strong hits and retaliate just as hard. Its substantial bulk helps it survive most unSTABbed Earthquakes even with no defensive investment. Combined with his auspicious typing, this means that Metagross is one of the most reliable Stealth Rock users. Other than its psuedo-signature move Meteor Mash, Metagross' diverse attacking options include Earthquake, Ice Punch, ThunderPunch, Bullet Punch, Zen Headbutt, Hammer Arm, and Pursuit.

Other Offensive Pokemon

Stacking Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-type Pokemon is not the best way to build a sandstorm team. It is important to note that not every member of a sandstorm team need benefit directly from sandstorm. In fact, even the most successful sandstorm teams often carry a member or two that takes passive damage from sandstorm; these Pokemon usually have access to instant recovery in order to compensate for sandstorm damage. These are a few offensive choices that will often round out a sandstorm team. Note that these are by no means the only Pokemon viable on a sand team despite their lack of immunity to sandstorm. This is merely a short list of Pokemon that provide valuable resistances to common weaknesses of sand teams while also matching up well against opposing weathers.

Latias
Latias is a prime example of a Pokemon arguably only hindered by sandstorm. Common Latias counters include Tyranitar and Steel-types, meaning sandstorm is not wearing down her counters. On the other hand, Latias loses her valuable Leftovers recovery in sandstorm. However, the true merit of using Latias in a sandstorm team is that she solidly counters Drizzle and Drought teams freely switching into opposing weather starters with her great special bulk and forcing a switch. This greatly helps your side retain the sandstorm and hence the advantage. She also patches up weaknesses to Fighting, Water, Grass, and Ground – common flaws in sandstorm teams.

Rotom-W
While most Rotom formes lost OU status upon losing their Ghost-typings, Rotom-W bucks the trend for good reason: Water / Electric is a fantastic typing, both offensively and defensively. It gives Rotom-W only one weakness to the uncommon Grass, while providing excellent dual STAB. It also has handy access to Will-O-Wisp to cripple the ubiquitous Grass-type, Ferrothorn. In fact, Rotom-W is deceptively bulky with Will-O-Wisp and Pain Split, even with little defensive investment. Another plus of Rotom-W is that it is very difficult for rain teams to handle: it packs handy resistances to Hydro Pump and Hurricane, while taking only neutral damage from Thunder. After tanking a strong hit, Rotom-W can recover lost health with Pain Split, or retaliate with a strong Thunderbolt that most likely hits the majority of the opposing rain team super effectively.

Celebi
There are undoubtedly some obvious recurring patterns in this list of Pokemon: all of them resist Water, resist Ground, and fare well against Rain. Indeed, one of the main reasons that a team with only sandstorm-immune Pokemon cannot succeed is that resistance to Water-type moves are very rare among Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types. Celebi is yet another possibility for the obligatory Water-type resistance. The most common Nasty Plot set capitalizes on its bulk to set up and plow through teams. Utility sets are also viable thanks to its incredibly versatile support movepool, which includes moves such as Thunder Wave, Leech Seed, Stealth Rock, and the rare Heal Bell. Celebi additionally counters problematic Fighting-types such as Conkeldurr, Virizion, and Breloom, as well as Rotom-W and its fellow Water- and Electric-types.

Defensive Sandstorm

Defensive walls always appreciate residual damage to compensate for their lack of offense. Sandstorm provides yet another source of passive damage, which, in conjunction with entry hazards, can rack up damage rather quickly. This combined damage will gradually weaken the opposing weather starter, which is always helpful. However, immunity to your own sandstorm is all the more crucial as a defensive Pokemon to fully benefit from sandstorm. The following are great defensive Pokemon, now made even better with sandstorm.

Skarmory
Skarmory remains one of the best Spikers in the game. Skarmory has incredible synergy with Tyranitar, as it can take Bug-, Steel-, Fighting-, and Ground-type moves aimed at Tyranitar, while Tyranitar can cover the chink in Skarmory's armor with its own ridiculous Special Defense. As Stealth Rock has much greater distribution, Skarmory can focus on laying Spikes to wear down opposing weather inducers. In a weather war, wearing down the opposing weather inducer is crucial. As a result, Skarmory is a good choice for any balanced team wanting Spikes support.

Gliscor
Gaining Poison Heal through DW was a godsend to Gliscor. While Poison Heal Gliscor does not have access to Roost, it hardly matters, as Poison Heal's huge end-of-turn recovery means Gliscor never needs it to begin with. Gliscor is perhaps the most reliable check to the likes of Bulk Up Conkeldurr and Swords Dance Landorus. It is also surprisingly versatile: its Taunt + Swords Dance set can break stall teams and pose an offensive threat, while it can utilize a combination of Substitute + Protect with Poison Heal recovery to stall indefinitely until the opponent succumbs to Toxic and sandstorm damage. Baton Pass, Sand Veil, and offensive SD with Flight Gem Acrobatics are lesser used options that can be just as devastating. Just like Skarmory, Gliscor is one of the best physical walls in the game, and fares extremely well against opposing sandstorm teams.

Forretress
Forretress remains the premier entry hazard user of BW OU. With access to Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Rapid Spin, Forretress is able to provide any type of support relating to hazards. Toxic Spikes gets a special mention, as it is a rare commodity limited to Forretress, Tentacruel, and other forgettable UU Pokemon. Forretress also gains a new option in Volt Switch, which, while a weak special move with low Base Power, allows Forretress to escape the clutches of Magnezone, and gain momentum on the multiple switches that Forretress can force. However, Forretress cannot be relied upon to lay down multiple hazards due to its lack of reliable recovery. Hence, Wish support from the likes of Blissey is recommended to get the most mileage out of Forretress.

Jirachi
Jirachi can fill many roles for a team with its incredible movepool and base 100 stats across the board. While Jirachi is primarily known for its Specially Defensive set, keep in mind that it has the option to go on the offensive with a Calm Mind set, a mixed variant, or a Choice Scarf set. Jirachi's typing really sets it apart as one of the best Latios checks available, and with Wish and Special Defense investment, it can take most neutral special attacks with ease and heal its teammates. Jirachi can also fill the role of a status spreader. Body Slam, Thunder Wave, and Iron Head are all options for paralysis support and general annoyance. You should not rely on Iron Head flinches, but it is a bonus that can bail you out of tough situations.

Quagsire
Overshadowed by Swampert for two whole generations, Quagsire finally has something to boast. Unaware is a fantastic ability that stops a range of setup sweepers from Conkeldurr and Lucario to Latias and Reuniclus in their tracks. Ground / Water is also a fantastic defensive typing that allows a single weakness to the uncommon Grass. With an instant recovery move, Quagsire can be incredibly difficult to crack, as it does not care about boosted hits. Stockpile and Curse are also viable options to boost its defenses and make it even harder to take down. While Quagsire is instantly forced out by virtually any Grass-type, it is an excellent defensive Pokemon that should not be underestimated.

Gastrodon
Gastrodon is another Water / Ground-type wall that is no longer outclassed by Swampert. The generation shift has upgraded Storm Drain such that its user not only takes zero damage from Water-type moves, but also gains a boost to its Special Attack. With immunities to Water- and Electric-type moves, Gastrodon can serve as a fantastic check to likes of Rotom-W, Starmie, and other common Drizzle abusers. With its great Special Defense and access to Recover, even stray HP Grasses and Grass Knots do not faze the sea slug. Since Gastrodon has lackluster offenses even with Storm Drain, status moves such as Toxic are recommended, as it is otherwise unable to do much back to the Water-types it can freely switch in on. A full stop to most Water- and Electric-types, a well-played Gastrodon can be a nuisance to any Drizzle team.

Bronzong
Bronzong is a rather overlooked choice for a defensive Pokemon. Its good typing and Levitate leaves it with a single weakness to Fire, and access to Stealth Rock, dual screens, and Trick Room makes Bronzong a fine support Pokemon. Bronzong also resists both Ground and Rock-type moves, a common attacking combination utilized by many overused physical attackers. It can also use HP Ice to check common threats such as Gliscor and other Dragon-types that do not take much damage from Gyro Ball. As one of the two Steel-types immune to Ground, Bronzong is inevitably compared with Skarmory. Lack of Spikes, reliable recovery, or phazing capability is a definite letdown, but it can still be an effective supporter for an offensive team needing an all-rounded tank, or a part of a defensive core with Wish support.

Other Defensive Pokemon

Blissey
Blissey is always an option for any type of defensive team, including defensive sandstorm teams. In spite of power creep, the pink blob still remains the best special wall in the game. Chansey gives Blissey much competition, but Blissey is indubitably the better special sponge in sandstorm for a single reason: Eviolite—and Chansey's subsequent lack of Leftovers— often leaves Chansey very prone to residual damage. Thanks to the new Wish mechanics, Standard Blissey's Wishes now heal over 350 HP, fully revitalizing the likes of Bronzong, Forretress, Latias, Lucario, and Rotom-W. The best Wish user in the game, this makes her invaluable to teammates without reliable recovery. Nonetheless, as Blissey has relatively low Defense, she is easily mauled by the likes of Conkeldurr and Terrakion. Therefore, Pokemon with high Defense such as Gliscor can be a great help. Entry hazard users like Forretress are also recommended to take advantage of the multiple switches Blissey can force. Also, note that Blissey is not an end-all be-all counter to all special threats: Calm Mind Reuniclus, Specs Latios with Psyshock, and SubSplit Gengar are examples of special threats that Blissey cannot handle alone. Hence, teammates such as Choice Scarf Tyranitar can help as a secondary special sponge.

Slowbro
Dream World has given Slowbro an incredible asset in Regeneration. With Slack Off, Regeneration, and its already impressive defenses, Slowbro can be a pain to take out on the physical side. Slowbro's most valuable niche in a sand team is that it can not only counter most Fighting-types that beat Tyranitar, but also soak up Water- and Fire-type attacks that more common Fighting-type resists such as Gliscor are unable to take. Slowbro also has multiple attacking options including Scald, Psychic, Psyshock, Grass Knot, and Fire Blast, and with a decent base Special Attack of 100, Slowbro is no slouch offensively. Slowbro tends to yield a safe switch-in to many threatening Pokemon such as Latios, but a timely Toxic or Thunder Wave on the switch will cripple them for the remainder of the match. While Slowbro is rather vulnerable to status itself, don't be fooled by its UU status: it is one of the best physical walls available.

Tentacruel
Tentacruel's niche has always been, and will always be, Toxic Spikes. Tentacruel does not appreciate sandstorm cancelling out its only source of recovery; however, its Toxic Spikes can be a massive help to any defensive team. Teammates such as Substitute + Protect Gliscor are excellent choices to abuse the accumulating sandstorm and Toxic Spikes damage. Aside from laying hazards of its own, Tentacruel can Rapid Spin to clear the field for your team, as well as absorb Toxic Spikes upon entering the arena. Tentacruel also provides a valuable Water-type resistance, and fares well against Drizzle teams thanks to Rain Dish recovery. Its other ability, Liquid Ooze, also enables it to counter common Grass moves such as Giga Drain and Leech Seed from Celebi, Virizion, and Ferrothorn, as well as Conkeldurr's Drain Punch, which sand teams will appreciate. Thanks to its mediocre offenses, however, Tentacruel is generally limited to purely defensive teams, but because the lack of reliable recovery is more troublesome on a defensive team, Wish support from Blissey or Jirachi is highly recommended to enable Tentacruel to reach its full potential.

Other Options + Sandstorm in UU Metagame

Other than the Pokemon suggested above, there are many more options for a sandstorm team. Rock-types such as Cradily, Shuckle, and Rhyperior receive a 50% boost in Special Defence, a nice complement to their natural bulk. Cradily has an interesting DW ability, Storm Drain, turning it into a handy check to rain teams. Rhyperior too is able to crush unprepared teams with its insane attack and bulk. However, they are underused options for good reason: Cradily is offensively challenged without multiple Curses under its belt, giving safe set-up opportunities to dangerous sweepers such as Lucario. Stockpile sets cannot accomplish much and will fall to an eventual critical hit. Admittedly, Cradily can become quite the unstoppable force after significant Curse boosts with good coverage in Earthquake and Rock Slide. However, it is weak to status, shut down by Taunt, and happens to be completely countered by the likes of Scizor, Taunt Gliscor, Bulk Up Conkeldurr, and other very common OU Pokemon. On the other hand, Rhyperior still cannot hope to tank super effective special attacks with its pitiable base 55 Special Defense. The fact that Rhyperior fares poorly against opposing weather teams does not help. While these Pokemon certainly benefit from sandstorm, there are almost always better options to choose from.

Of course, Rock-type Pokemon are not the only Pokemon that appreciate sandstorm. Sadly, Sand Force, Sand Rush, and Sand Veil have poor distribution, and the majority of those who get these rare abilities, bar the banned Excadrill and aforementioned Landorus, are either underwhelming or have better abilities available. For example, Gliscor prefers Poison Heal over to Sand Veil, while Gastrodon's stats better suit the more defensive Storm Drain over the offensive Sand Force. Stoutland can be an interesting option thanks to coverage moves such as Ice Fang, Fire Fang, and Wild Charge, but it has poor typing and weak offenses. As with other luck-based abilities, Sand Veil is unreliable and therefore not recommended. With the banning of Garchomp, Sand Veil is stuck with RU Pokemon anyways, and good luck sweeping with Cacturne or Sandslash in OU. Still, these options may be viable in UU with support from Hippowdon.

HIPPOWDON IS NOW AVAILABLE IN UU! This means that I actually get to write about abusers!

In the 3rd and 4th Generations, sandstorm was a common field condition. However, this was mainly because Tyranitar(comma) and to a lesser extent(comma) Hippowdon, were common threat threats in the metagame. In the 5th Generation, sandstorm receives some major offensive buffs. With the advent of sweepers such as Landorus and Excadrill, sandstorm has evolved from an annoying battle condition into a dominant playstyle.

Enter Garchomp and Excadrill ban. After the dynamic duo of sandstorm abusers were sent to Ubers, sandstorm is now relegated to an anti-weather role, a possible source of passive damage that is useful for checking weather-reliant threats such as Tornadus and Venusaur. Even without the main abusers, sandstorm remains a viable option for many teams. This guide will focus on utilizing how to utilize the beneficial effects of sandstorm I personally feel that the negative effects of sandstorm, ie. breaking Multi Scale and cancelling Leftovers, are the most "abuseable" aspects of sand to your advantage, and retaining retain the advantage against opposing weather conditions. After reading this guide, you will gain all the knowledge necessary to build and play with your own sandstorm team.

Sandstorm can be brought onto the field in two ways. The first—and generally inferior—method is using to use the move Sandstorm; this type of sandstorm will last up to five turns. The held item Smooth Rock lengthens the duration of this sandstorm to eight turns. The more common method is using to use Pokemon with the ability Sand Stream, an ability that casts a permanent sandstorm upon the field until the weather is changed. This guide will focus on the latter type of sandstorm.

The following are the effects that will occur if sandstorm is the field effect:

The Special Defense of Rock-type Pokemon is increased by 50%

All non-Rock-, Steel-, and Ground-type Pokemon and Pokemon without the ability Magic Guard, Sand Veil, or Overcoat take 1/16 damage at the end of every turn.

The evasion of a Pokemon with the Sand Veil ability is increased by 20%.

Solarbeam's Base Power is reduced from 120 to 60.

Synthesis, Moonlight, and Morning Sun only recover 25% of the user's HP, as opposed to the standard 50%.

Weather Ball's base power is doubled to 100, and becomes a Rock-type move.

All Pokemon with Sand Rush have their speed doubled in sandstorm. In addition, non-Rock-, Steel-, and Ground-type Pokemon do not take residual damage from sandstorm.

All Pokemon with the ability Sand Force have their Ground-type, Rock-type, and Steel-type moves boosted by 30%.

Any successful sandstorm team needs a Sand Streamer. Although only Hippowdon and Tyranitar possess this ability, both of them are great choices and can be easily incorporated into a team. Sandstorm is also the only weather condition with two OU-viable permanent summoners. However, with few direct sandstorm abusers remaining(comma)left, there is no need to desperately control the weather using two Pokemon with adverse synergy.

Tyranitar

Tyranitar is rightfully the more common Sand Streamer. The Special Defense boost effectively bumps Tyranitar's BST to a staggering 670, rivaling that of common Ubers. Good stats across the board make Tyranitar a versatile threat(period) allow Tyranitar to be a versatile threat. The common mixed set with Stealth Rock can support sandstorm sweepers by luring in and weakening physical walls(period) and weakening them. Stealth Rock provides another source of passive damage, while a movepool that includes Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Crunch, Superpower, and Stone Edge allows Tyranitar to bemakes Tyranitar a true offensive juggernaut in its own right(period)on its own. Choice Band Tyranitar is another viable set that can spell disaster to teams that expect a weaker Tyranitar. It also has significant sufficient all-around bulk to easily switch in and fire off a devastating attack. Pursuit also has much utility to can be utilized to cripple Ghost-types, Psychic-types, and opposing weather starters. Choice Scarf Tyranitar is also viable on defensive teams as a secondary special wall, revenge killer(comma) and glue for a team.

However, Tyranitar's typing leaves it with multiple weaknesses to common attacking types. Fighting-types such as Scrafty or Conkeldurr can easily switch in, and either threaten Tyranitar with an OHKO or set up(period), and find setup opportunities. As a result, any team using Tyranitar needs a reliable Fighting-type check(comma) such as like Gliscor, Slowbro, or Skarmory. Tyranitar also has trouble walling strong special attackers because it is weak to common special attacking types, particularly Water and Grass. A weakness to Earthquake also leaves it vulnerable to opposing sandstorm sweepers such as Landorus. Despite these glaring weaknesses, Tyranitar is a strong Pokemon on its own, and a good team supporter with its ability Sand Stream.

Hippowdon

A frequently overlooked choice, the sand hippopotamus is nonetheless a very viable option. With its excellent base HP and Defense, Hippowdon continues to be a premier physical wall in the Black and White metagame. While most Tyranitar-based sandstorm teams have a weakness to opposing sandstorm sweepers, Hippowdon is a solid stop to most physical attackers. It has a wealth of support options(comma) such as Stealth Rock, Roar, and Toxic, as well as a reliable recovery move in Slack Off. Moreover, Hippowdon is no slacker in the offensive department. Possessing an above-average base Attack of 112, its attacks pack a surprising punch even without investment. It can even run a bulky Choice Band set for surprise value.

As a defensive Pokemon, Hippowdon's significantly weaker Special Defense stat stands out as a major flaw. Hippowdon can usually solve this issue by running a specially defensive spread that allows it to easily switch in on Ninetales, mixed Tyranitar, and other common threats. Still, strong special threats(comma) such aslike Rotom-W and Politoed(comma) can OHKO Hippowdon even with maximum Special Defense investment, so a special wall such as Blissey is recommended for all teams using Hippowdon. Hippowdon can also force multiple switches with its bulk and Roar, so Spikes support is helpful too. Despite its low usage, Hippowdon is by no means a pushover, and with proper support(comma) can form part of a strong defensive core.

Sandstorm teams are highly regarded for their flexibility, thanks to the large variety and versatility of abusers and inducers alike(period) sandstorm setters. While most weather teams have only one weather starter, sandstorm teams get to choose between the defensive Hippowdon and the offensive Tyranitar, or even use both for more chances to keep the sandstorm raging. With many sweepers that perform well in sandstorm, offensive sandstorm teams are not to be easily dismissed. These teams usually have Pokemon with abilities that boost their stats in sandstorm. These teams also make use of the secondary damage to deal with any walls that are not of Steel-, Ground-, or Rock-type, removing because sandstorm removes their Leftovers recovery and pressuring pressures them into using recovery moves more often. Easy access to Stealth Rock support from Tyranitar and Hippowdon is another advantage of sandstorm teams. Tyranitar's and Hippowdon's access to Stealth Rock gives sand inducers another advantage over other weather summoners(period)

Due to the residual damage caused by sandstorm, stall teams may also employ sand setters on their teams. Sand stall teams work by abusing sandstorm(remove space)'s residual damage while setting up entry hazards just like a normal stall team. Both Hippowdon and Tyranitar are great defensive Pokemon capable of using Stealth Rock; also, Toxic Spikes are notorious for accumulating secondary damage. Stall teams can also make good use of Rock-types' Special Defense buff in order by using Rock-types to sponge attacks from powerful special attackers.

However, most sand teams are balanced. This is explained partly by the fact that sandstorm is not as easy to offensively abuse offensively as sun or rain. Sun grants offensive boosts to Fire-types and Chlorophyll Pokemon, and rain grants offensive boosts to Water- and Electric-types, as well as Swift Swim Pokemon. Sandstorm, on the other hand, only directly boosts the offenses of one OU Pokemon(period)does not directly boost the offenses of all but one OU Pokemon. As a result, many sand teams only have a single sandstorm sweeper, supported by a strong defensive core to gradually weaken the opponent with sandstorm, entry hazards, and crippling statuses. Entry hazards are also crucial in for wearing down the opposing weather inducer and maintaining the weather advantage. Only after the opposing core is severely weakened would such teamssand sweepers attempt a sweep. These teams will often have a combination of Pokemon recommended for offensive and defensive sand teams.

With all these different types of teams, which Pokemon are the best choices for your sandstorm team? Below is a list of Pokemon that any sand team should consider.

Only a few Pokemon are capable of making full use of sandstorm to change a game sweep–but don't fret, because these unique few are some of the greatest sweepers in BW. You are virtually guaranteed to see at least one of them on any offensive sandstorm team due to their immense sweeping potential. The following key abusers of sandstorm are great choices to keep in mind when constructing a sandstorm team.

Landorus

Landorus lacks the raw power to muscle through some physical walls, but it is a deadly sweeper in sandstorm. Its ability, Sand Force, boosts its Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-type moves by 30% in sandstorm. While this boost is smaller than the 50% boost that granted by Sun or Rain(comma)grant, it is just enough for Landorus. In fact, the The fact that Landorus does not depend entirely on sandstorm makes it an appealing choice. It has a fantastic 101 base Speed, and it can serve as a Choice Scarf scout with U-turn or a boosting sweeper with Swords Dance or Rock Polish.

While outsped by common Ground-immunes such as Gengar and Latios, Landorus is a versatile offensive threat. Thanks to its above-average Special Attack, Landorus can run a mixed set with a Hidden Power of choice to beat physical walls such as Gliscor or Skarmory. It also remains as the only viable user of the move Smack Down(comma) tostrip which strips Skarmory, Rotom-W, and Bronzong of their Ground immunity to hit immunities and hits them hard with Sand Force boosted, STAB, and super effective Earthquake(period)for major damage. With so many tricks up its sleeve, Landorus is very hard difficult to counter. Revenge killing such as with priority is Revenge killers, preferably with priority moves, are the most reliable ways to check this monstrous threat, but a generic physical wall or an EdgeQuake resist will usually be enough.

Terrakion

Terrakion is an example of a Pokemon that has everything necessary for a sweeper. DualIts dual STAB of Fighting and Rock provide it with near-flawless coverage. Its exceptional 108 base Speed additionally allows it to outspeed most of the OU metagame. Terrakion is therefore a good user of Choice Band or Choice Scarf thanks to its fantastic coverage and great speed. It also has access to two great boosting moves in Swords Dance and Rock Polish. Because its STAB attacks are so powerful, and have such great coverage(comma) Terrakion can even afford to pack both Swords Dance and Rock Polish into its Double Dance onto a Double Booster set, and use the boosting move appropriate boosting move forto the opponent's team. Although sandstorm does not directly boost Terrakion's offenses, Terrakion does appreciate the Special Defense boost. In sandstorm, Terrakion can boost its stats in relative safety and proceed to sweep. Sadly, weaknesses to common priority moves such as Mach Punch, Bullet Punch, and Aqua Jet means that Terrakion is easily revenged. Still, it is a very powerful sweeper that can easily turn the tide of a game.

Immunity to sandstorm is a huge boon to many offensive Pokemon in on sandstorm teams. Sources of passive damage abound in the BW metagame:Sources of passive damage are abundant in the BW metagame, so sandstorm and Life Orb damage can very quickly take their toll, especially on top of Stealth Rock and Spikes damage. While these Pokemon do not benefit immensely from sandstorm, they are not harmed by it either. Still, residual damage from sandstorm removes the Leftovers recovery of potential walls, turning some 3HKOs to 2HKOs. What sweeper doesn't appreciate that?

Magnezone

Magnezone's unique ability, Magnet Pull, enables it to trap and remove the Steel-type walls like Skarmory and Bronzong that are commonly used employed to check sandstorm sweepers such as Landorus. Sandstorm sweepers have few airtight counters, so Pokemon that can easily eliminate these troublesome obstacles are very welcome. It can serve as a revenge killer with a Choice Scarf equipped, or run a Charge Beam set to boost its Special Attack on said trapped Steels. Ultimately, though, Magnezone is a rather one-dimensional Pokemon; after all Steel-types are removed, Magnezone can attempt to tank with its multiple resistances, or—more realistically—serve as death fodder.

Scizor

Scizor hasn't changed one bit from DPP, and it is still incredibly effective at what it does. STAB(comma) Choice Band(comma) Technician-boosted Bullet Punch off base 130 Attack is no less devastating, and U-turn is as useful as ever. While the advent of Team Preview has reduced the need for scouting, U-turn is a very safe option that does hefty damage to common threats such as Tyranitar and Reuniclus while retaining offensive momentum. Scizor can also trap troublesome foes such as Gengar and Latias, putting them into a checkmate position with the dual threat of Bullet Punch and Pursuit. Scizor can also sweep with a Swords Dance set, abusing its strong priority to plow through teams while unhindered by Choice Scarf users and faster Pokemon. Even with lackluster STAB walled by several common Pokemon, Scizor manages to make the best out of them withits exceptional utility and sheer power.

Lucario

Lucario is hands down one of the most versatile sweepers in BW OU. With access to a variety of boosting moves such as Swords Dance, Nasty Plot, and Agility, it can sweep in many different ways. You may evenfind your opponent switching in a counter to the wrong variant, allowing Lucario to boost twice. All Lucario desperately need residual damage to opposing walls, however: Swords Dance and Nasty Plot sets require prior damage on anythingto beat threats that outspeeds it with priority(comma)at 90 base Speed, while Agility sets struggle to dent defensive walls without help from its teammates. Lucario also appreciates Tyranitar removing bulky Psychic-types and faster Ghost-types. Nevertheless, Lucario is an excellent choice for any sandstorm team looking for strong priority and a lategame sweeper.

Heatran

Due to its unique typing, Heatran can be a very valuable addition to a sandstorm team, with its Fire STAB incinerating opposing Steel-type physical walls that often trouble sandstorm teams. Heatran also possesses other offensive options(comma) such as Earth Power, Dragon Pulse, and a choice of Hidden Power. Its support moves include Roar, Taunt, Toxic, as well as Stealth Rock, and a specially defensive set can be viable in a defensively oriented team with itsto provide a valuable Dragon resistance. Heatran is very versatile, and it can use Choice Scarf, Air Balloon, or Substitute to great effect. Note that Heatran is(comma) in general(comma) a great check to Drought teams, and is therefore a great choice for sandstorm teams that struggle against sun.

Reuniclus

Reuniclus is a natural fit on many sandstorm teams as because its ability, Magic Guard, protects it from residual damage. Since most sandstorm sweepers are physically based, and Reuniclus does not share common weaknesses with sand sweepers(comma) Reuniclus can provide a nice offensive balance as well as typeoffensive and defensive diversity to sandstorm teams. Instant recovery and a(space)valuable Fighting resist also helps it check troublesome Pokemon such as Conkeldurr. With access to Calm Mind and Trick Room(comma) along with great natural bulk, Reuniclus also has no problem sweeping. Offensive Trick Room variants do well against opposing offensive teams, while a bulky Calm Mind set can single-handedly destroy a stall team.

Metagross

The transition from DPP to BW brought solely only disappointment for Metagross. The nerf to Explosion meant that Metagross lost one of its best moves, while the advent of Team Preview did no favors for a Pokemon that once enjoyed consistent top-ten usage as a lead. Still, Metagross is perfect if you desire a Pokemon that can tank strong hits and retaliate with more powerful moves(period) just as hard. Its substantial bulk helps it survive most unSTABbed Earthquakes even with no defensive investment. Combined with his auspicious typing, this means that Metagross is one of the most reliable Stealth Rock users in the metagame. Other than its psuedo-signature move(comma) Meteor Mash, Metagross' diverse attacking options include offensive movepool includes Earthquake, Ice Punch, ThunderPunch, Bullet Punch, Zen Headbutt, Hammer Arm, and Pursuit.

Stacking Rock-, Ground-, and Steel-type Pokemon is not the best way to build a sandstorm team. It is important to note that not every member of a sandstorm team need benefit directly from sandstorm. In fact, even the most successful sandstorm teams often carry a member or two that takes passive damage from sandstorm; these Pokemon usually have access to instant recovery in order to compensate for sandstorm damage. These are a few offensive choices that will often round out be seen on a sandstorm team. Note that these are by no means the only Pokemon viable on a sand team despite their lack of immunity to sandstorm. This is merely a short list of Pokemon that provide valuable resistances to common weaknesses of sand teams while also matching and matchup well against opposing weathers.

Latias

Latias is a prime example of a Pokemon arguably only hindered by sandstorm. Common Latias counters include Tyranitar and Steel-types, meaning sandstorm is not wearing down her counters. On the other hand, Furthermore(comma) Latias loses her valuable Leftovers recovery in sandstorm. However, the true merit of using Latias in a sandstorm team is that she solidly counters checks Drizzle and Drought teams(comma) freely switching into opposing weather starters with her great special bulk and forcing a switch. This greatly helps your side retain the sandstorm and hence the advantage. She also patches up weaknesses to Fighting, Water, Grass, and Ground – common flaws in sandstorm teams.

Rotom-W

While most Rotom formes lost OU status upon losing their Ghost-typings, Rotom-W bucks the trend for good reason: Water / Electric is a fantastic typing, both offensively and defensively. It gives Rotom-W only one weakness to the uncommon Grass Grass-type defensively, while providing excellent dual STAB offensively. It also has handy access to Will-O-Wisp to cripple the ubiquitous Grass-type, Ferrothorn. In fact, Rotom-W is deceptively bulky with Will-O-Wisp and Pain Split, even with little defensive investment. Another plus of Rotom-W is that it is very difficult for rain teams to handle: it packs handy resistances to Hydro Pump and Hurricane, while taking and takes only neutral damage from Thunder. After tanking a strong hit, Rotom-W can either recover lost health with Pain Split, or retaliate with a strong Thunderbolt(comma) whichthat most likely hits the majority of the opposing rain team super effectively.

Celebi

There are undoubtedly some obvious recurring patterns in this list of Pokemon: all of them resist Water, resist Ground, and fare well against Rain. Indeed, one of the main reasons that a team with only sandstorm-immune Pokemon cannot succeed is that resistance to Water-type moves are very rare among Ground-, Rock-, and Steel-types have trouble against Water-types. Celebi is yet another possibility for the obligatory Water-type resistance. The most common Nasty Plot set capitalizes on its bulk to set up and plow through teams. Utility sets are also viable thanks to its incredibly versatile support movepool, which includes moves(comma) such as Thunder Wave, Leech Seed, Stealth Rock, and the rare Heal Bell. Celebi additionally counters problematic Fighting-types(comma) such as Conkeldurr, Virizion, and Breloom, as well as Rotom-W and its fellow Water- and Electric-types.

Defensive walls always appreciate residual damage to compensate for their lack of offense. Sandstorm provides yet another source of passive damage, which, in conjunction with entry hazards, can rack up damage rather quickly. This combined damage will gradually weaken the opposing weather starter, which is always helpful. However, immunity to your own sandstorm is all the more crucial as for a defensive Pokemon to fully benefit from sandstorm. The following are great defensive Pokemon, now made even better with sandstorm.

Skarmory

Skarmory remains one of the best Spikers in the game. Skarmory has incredible synergy with Tyranitar, as it can take Bug-, Steel-, Fighting-, and Ground-type moves aimed at Tyranitar, while Tyranitar can cover the chink in Skarmory's armor with its own ridiculous Special Defense. As Stealth Rock has much greater distribution, Skarmory can focus on laying Spikes to wear down opposing weather inducers(comma)(remove period) which is crucial in a weather war(period) In a weather war, wearing down the opposing weather inducer is crucial. As a result, Skarmory is a good choice for any defensive or balanced sand team wanting Spikes support.

Gliscor

Gaining Poison Heal through DW Dream World was a godsend to Gliscor. While Poison Heal Gliscor does not have access to Roost, it hardly matters, as Poison Heal's huge end-of-turn recovery means Gliscor never rarely needs it to begin with. Gliscor is perhaps the most reliable check to the likes of Bulk Up Conkeldurr and Swords Dance Landorus. It is also surprisingly versatile: its Taunt + Swords Dance set can break apart stall teams and pose an offensive threat, while it can utilize a combination ofits Substitute + Protect set can abuse with Poison Heal recovery to stall indefinitely until the opponent succumbs to Toxic and sandstorm damage. Baton Pass, Sand Veil, and offensive SD Swords Dance variants with Flight Gem Acrobatics are lesser used options that can be just as devastating. Just like Skarmory, Gliscor is one of the best physical walls in the game, and fares extremely well against opposing sandstorm teams.

Forretress

Forretress remains the premier entry hazard user of BW OU. With access to Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, and Rapid Spin, Forretress is able to provide any type of support relating related to hazards. Toxic Spikes gets a special mention, as it is a rare commodity limited to Forretress, Tentacruel, and other forgettable UU Pokemon. Forretress also gains a new option in Volt Switch, which, while a weak special move with low Base Power, allows Forretress to escape the clutches of Magnezone, and gain momentum on the multiple switches that Forretress can force. However, Forretress cannot be relied upon to lay down multiple hazards due to its lack of reliable recovery. Hence, Wish support from the likes of Blissey is recommended to get the most mileage out of Forretress.

Jirachi

Jirachi can fill many roles for a team with its incredible movepool and base 100 stats across the board. While Jirachi is primarily known for its Specially Defensive set, keep in mind that it has the option to go on the offensive with a Calm Mind set, a mixed variant set, or a Choice Scarf set. Jirachi's typing really sets it apart as one of the best Latios checks available, and with Wish and Special Defense investment, it can take most neutral special attacks with ease and heal its teammates. Jirachi can also fill the role of a status spreader. Body Slam, Thunder Wave, and Iron HeadThunder are all options for paralysis support and form quite an annoying combination with Iron Head(period) general annoyance. You should not rely on Iron Head flinches, but it is a bonus that can bail you out of tough situations.

Quagsire

Overshadowed by Swampert for two whole generations, Quagsire finally has something to boast. Unaware is a fantastic ability that stops arange of setup sweepers(comma) ranging from Conkeldurr and Lucario to Latias and Reuniclus(comma) in their tracks. Ground / Water is also a fantastic defensive typing that allows results in onlya single weakness to the uncommon Grass. With an instant recovery move, Quagsire can be incredibly difficult to crack, as it does not care about boosted hits. Stockpile and Curse are also viable options to boost its defenses and make it even harder more difficultto take down. While Quagsire is instantly forced out by virtually any Grass-type, it is an excellent defensive Pokemon that should not be underestimated.

Gastrodon
Gastrodon is another Water / Ground-type wall that is no longer outclassed by Swampert. The generation shift has upgraded Storm Drain such so that that its user not only takes zero damage from Water-type moves, but also gains a boost to its Special Attack. With immunities to Water- and Electric-type moves, Gastrodon can serve as a fantastic check to likes of Rotom-W, Starmie, and other common Drizzle abusers. With its great Special Defense and access to Recover, even stray HP Grasses and Grass Knots do not faze the sea slug. Since Gastrodon has lackluster offenses(comma) even with Storm Drain, status moves(comma) such as Toxic are(comma) recommended, as it is otherwise unable to do much back tothreaten the Water-types it can freely switch in on. A full stop to most Water- and Electric-types, a well-played Gastrodon can be a nuisance to any Drizzle team.

Bronzong

Bronzong is a rather overlooked choice for a defensive Pokemon. Its good typing and Levitate leaves it with a single weakness to Fire, and access to Stealth Rock, dual screens, and Trick Room makes Bronzong a fine support Pokemon. Bronzong also resists both Ground Ground- and Rock-type moves, a common attacking combination utilized by many overused physical attackers. It can also use HP Ice to check common threats(comma) such as Gliscor and other(-_-) Gliscor isn't a Dragon Dragon-types(comma) that do not take much damage from Gyro Ball. As one of the two Steel-types immune to Ground, Bronzong is inevitably compared with Skarmory. Lack of Spikes, reliable recovery, or phazing capability is a definite letdown, but it can still be an effective supporter for an offensive team needing in need of an all-rounded tank, or a form part of a defensive core with Wish support.

Blissey is always an option for any type of defensive team, including defensive sandstorm teams. In spite of power creep, the pink blob still remains the best special wall in the game. Chansey gives Blissey much competition, but Blissey is indubitably the better special sponge in sandstorm for a single reason: Eviolite—and Chansey's subsequent lack of Leftovers— often leaves Chansey very prone to residual damage. Thanks to the new Wish mechanics, Standard Blissey's Wishes now heal over 350 HP, fully revitalizing the likes of Bronzong, Forretress, Latias, Lucario, and Rotom-W. The best Wish user in the game, this makes her invaluable to teammates without reliable recovery. Nonetheless, as Blissey has relatively low Defense, she is easily mauled by the likes of Conkeldurr and Terrakion. Therefore, Pokemon with high Defense(comma) such as Gliscor(comma) can be a great help. Entry hazard users(comma)like such as Forretress(comma) are also recommended to take advantage of the multiple switches Blissey can force. Also, note that Blissey is not an end-all be-all counter to all special threats: Calm Mind Reuniclus, Specs Latios with Psyshock, and SubSplit Gengar are examples of special threats that Blissey cannot handle alone. Hence,teammates such as Choice ScarfConveniently(comma) Tyranitar can help as a secondary special sponge.

Slowbro

Dream World has given Slowbro an incredible asset in Regenerator(period) Regeneration. With Slack Off, Regenerator(comma) Regeneration, and its already impressive defenses, Slowbro can be a pain to take out on the physical side. Slowbro's most valuable niche in a sand team is that it can not only counter most Fighting-types that beat Tyranitar, but also soak up Water- and Fire-type attacks that more common Fighting-type resists(comma) such as Gliscor(comma) are unable to take. Slowbro also has multiple attacking options(comma) including Scald, Psychic, Psyshock, Grass Knot, and Fire Blast, and with a decent base Special Attack of 100, Slowbro is no slouch offensively. Slowbro tends to yield a safe switch-in to many threatening Pokemon(comma) such as Latios, but a timely Toxic or Thunder Wave on the switch will cripple them for the remainder of the match. While Slowbro is rather vulnerable to status itself, don't be fooled by its UU status: it is one of the best physical walls available.

Tentacruel

Tentacruel's niche has always been, and will always be, Toxic Spikes. Tentacruel does not appreciate sandstorm cancelling out its only source of recovery; however, its Toxic Spikes can be a massive help to any defensive team. Teammates such as Substitute + Protect Gliscor are excellent choices to abuse the accumulating sandstorm and Toxic Spikes damage. Aside from laying hazards of its own, Tentacruel can Rapid Spin to clear the field for your team, as well as absorb Toxic Spikes upon entering the arena. Tentacruel also provides a valuable Water-type resistance, and fares well against Drizzle teams thanks to Rain Dish recovery. Its other ability, Liquid Ooze, also enables it to counter common Grass moves such as Giga Drain and Leech Seed from Celebi, Virizion, and Ferrothorn, as well as Conkeldurr's Drain Punch, which sand teams will appreciate. Thanks to its mediocre offenses, however, Tentacruel is generally limited to purely defensive teams, but because the lack of reliable recovery is more troublesome on a defensive team, Wish support from Blissey or Jirachi is highly recommended to enable Tentacruel to reach its full potential.

Other than the Pokemon suggested above, there are still many more options for a sandstorm team. Rock-types(comma) such as Cradily, Shuckle, and Rhyperior(comma) receive a 50% boost in Special Defence, a nice complement to their natural bulk. Cradily has an interesting DW Dream World ability, Storm Drain, turning which turns it into a handy check to rain teams. Rhyperior too(comma) is able to crush unprepared teams with its insane attack and bulk. However, they are underused options for good reason: Cradily is offensively challenged without multiple Curses under its belt, giving which gives safe set-up opportunities to dangerous sweepers(comma) such as Lucario. Stockpile sets cannot accomplish much and will fall to an eventual critical hit. Admittedly, Cradily can become quite the unstoppable force after significant Curse boosts with good coverage in Earthquake and Rock Slide. However, it is weak to status, shut down by Taunt, and happens to be completely countered by the likes of Scizor, Taunt Gliscor, Bulk Up Conkeldurr, and other very common OU Pokemon. On the other hand, Rhyperior still cannot hope to tank super effective special attacks withdue to its pitiable base 55 Special Defense. The fact that Rhyperior fares poorly against opposing weather teams does not help. While these Pokemon certainly benefit from sandstorm, there are almost always better options to choose from.

Of course, Rock-type Pokemon are not the only Pokemon that appreciate sandstorm. Sadly, Sand Force, Sand Rush, and Sand Veil have poor distribution, and the majority of those who get these rare abilities, bar the banned Excadrill and aforementioned Landorus, are either underwhelming or have better abilities available. For example, Gliscor prefers Poison Heal over to Sand Veil, while Gastrodon's stats better suit the more defensive Storm Drain overthe offensivethan Sand Force. Stoutland can be an interesting option thanks to coverage moves(comma) such as Ice Fang, Fire Fang, and Wild Charge, but it has poor typing and weak offenses. As with other luck-based abilities, Sand Veil is unreliable and therefore not recommended. With the banning of Garchomp, Sand Veil is stuck with underwhelming Pokemon anyways, and good luck sweeping with Cacturne or Sandslash in OU. Still, these options may be viable in UU with support from Hippowdon. Hippo is a banned deucer as well.

This section will deal with common weaknesses of sandstorm teams, and how to overcome them. Some of these include opposing weather teams, but also individual threats that can check the few sandstorm abusers available. This section will provide you with not only what you would expect from an opposing weather team, but also how to counter them without having to rely on niche counters that does do not add to the overall goal of the team.

Breloom

Breloom can not only threaten a sandstorm team with its powerful attacks, but it can also shut down a Pokemon with ease thanks to Spore. It gets the Poison Heal ability, so with a Toxic Orb, it can not only protect itself from status, but also regain 12.5% HP each turn. and most players run Toxic Orb on it to prevent status and regain HP at the same time, which can cause a problem if you’re trying to inflict a status on Breloom. Most sandstorm teams use Toxic Orb Gliscor with its Poison Heal(comma) as it cannot be put to sleep if it is poisoned, and it can otherwise put a full stop to Breloom. Other great checks to Breloom are Reuniclus, Latias, Celebi, Sigilyph, Deoxys-D, Mew, and Xatu. They're all able to resist Breloom's incredibly power Focus Punch attack and KO back with a Psychic-type move. However, all of that require an additional Pokemon to take Spore for them, except Xatu, which uses its Magic Bounce ability to bounce Breloom's Spore attack onto itself, which is a great way to stop Breloom if it lacks Toxic Orb or if Toxic Orb has not activated yet.

Conkeldurr

Conkeldurr is one of the top threats to a Sandstorm team. Its bulk, power(comma) and typing immediately spells disaster for a Sandstorm team if it’s lacking some appropriate checks, especially as it can recover its health when it attacks. The main reason why this applies to Sandstorm teams is that Tyranitar, who is the most prominent Sand Stream inducer in the current metagame, and Excadrill, who is the most prominent sweeper in sandstorm teams, are both is massively weak to Fighting-type moves. It can easily come in on Tyranitar and threaten to OHKO it or grab a Bulk Up boost and proceed to cause major issues. Typically, the most common ways of dealing with Physical threats is to burn them and lower their Attack to manageable levels. However, Conkeldurr’s ability is Guts, which actually boosts Conkeldurr’s Attack stat if it is hit with a major status condition, such as a burn. However, Conkeldurr is not without his checks. Choice Specs Latios can OHKO with Draco Meteor, and both Latias and Latios can set up Calm Mind boosts if Conkeldurr lacks Payback. Reuniclus is a good check for Conkeldurr. It has impressive bulk, and it is slower than Conkeldurr, meaning that Payback will not do as much damage, and while Reuniclus can respond with a powerful STAB Psychic. Gliscor can is also a solid check. It resists Conkeldurr’s STAB attacks and can take most of what Conkeldurr can throw at it, whilst breaking through Conkeldurr’s defenses thanks to Taunt and Swords Dance. Skarmory can also check it efficiently using Brave Bird and Whirlwind to prevent it from setting up, but it can struggle(comma) as it does not resist Drain Punch. One of the most solid checks for Conkeldurr is Slowbro, as it is slower than Conkeldurr, like Reuniclus is, gets instant recovery, has an STAB Psychic to beat Conkeldurr with, and can switch out and recover any health it did lose thanks to Regeneration. All of the above Pokemon can work fairly well in a sandstorm team.

Forretress/ Skarmory

Forretress and Skarmory are probably some of the top picks to set up entry hazards. While Skarmory can set up hazards and phaze out enemies with Whirlwind, Forretress can set up hazards alongside foes and easily spin them away. Both these pokemon are huge threats to sand teams because they can set up hazards(comma) whichand rack up damage quite quickly. They also both come with one of the most annoying abilities this generation, Sturdy, which allows them to stay alive for at least 2 turns as long as they have full HP. These two pokemon share similiar weaknesses though. For one, they are both extremely weak to Fire-type attacks, and if you have a spinner on your team, they're pretty much useless. Electric- and Fire-type attacks can pretty much take down Skarmory, but it's usually paired with a sturdy special wall(comma) such as Blissey, as is Forretress. Mixed attackers(comma) such as Infernape(comma) have no trouble dealing with this core and can easily break it. Reuniclus can farefares well against the two as well, taking no residual damage and attacking back with Focus Blast.

Gliscor:

Gliscor can threaten any sandstorm team with its excellent Defense and typing. Its typing gives it an immunity to Ground while retaining the neutrality to Rock—this means that Gliscor can wall common sand sweepers with ease. Both Landorus and Terrakion have extreme difficulties in difficultygetting past Gliscor unless they use Hidden Power Ice. While Hippowdon without Ice Fang is completely helpless against Gliscor as it Toxic stalls, Tyranitar will fall to a few Earthquakes if it does not carry Ice Beam. Other common sand Pokemon, such as Skarmory and Scizor, will lose to the standard Taunt and Swords Dance set. Note that Ice-type moves on sandstorm Pokemon are left as viable options purely for Gliscor: a testament to how much Gliscor threatens a standard sand team. Without such coverage moves to surprise Gliscor, a Ground-resist with a way to hit Gliscor, such as Celebi, should be necessary. Otherwise, Water-type Pokemon(comma) such as Rotom-W(comma) can shut it down with a powerful STAB.

Lucario

Boasting a Base 110 Attack and a Base 115 Special Attack, and having access to boosting moves such as Nasty Plot, Sword Dance(comma) and Agility(comma)makes Lucario is one of the best sweepers in the game from either side of the spectrum. Whilst its Speed is a fairly average Base base 90, it has access to various priority moves, such as Extremespeed, Bullet Punch(comma) and Vacuum Wave. It can seriously threaten almost all members of a sandstorm team and leave its core in pieces if the player doesn't realize what moves the opponent is using. Nothing much can hold up well against a Swords Dance Lucario, as even Skarmory takes a hefty chunk of damage from Close Combat. The Physical version can be walled by either Gliscor or Slowbro and Reuniclus, depending on what filler move Lucario is running alongside Extremespeed, Close Combat(comma) and Swords Dance. Ice Punch will make Slowbro's life easy while Crunch will make Gliscor's life easy. Excadrill can beat an ordinary Physical version without Air Balloon since it resists Extremespeed. Gliscor can do fairly well against Nasty Plot Lucario if it lacks Hidden Power Ice, but it will take a large chunk of damage from Dark Pulse. Tentacruel and Gastrodon can do fairly well against Nasty Plot Lucario, being able to take a hit or two and try and burn it with Scald, or KO with Earth Power in Gastrodon’s case. Whilst Blissey and Chansey can paralyse Lucario, making him easier to manage, itthey will not want to take a +2 Aura Sphere at all. Tyranitar cannot stand up to Lucario at all, and Hippowdon struggles to take a +2 Close Combat, and it therefore seriously struggles against Nasty Plot Lucario.

Ninetales

The cornerstone of any sun team, Ninetales looks extremely outclassed when compared to other weather inducers. As allAll the other weather inducers, bar Abomasnow, have a severe type advantage over it, the questions arises as to whether it can really have an impact on the weather war or not. The answer is yes. In the hands of a good player, a sun team is a devastating force to be reckoned with. Stealth Rock is essential when playing against sun teams, because Ninetales will take 25% damage on every switch-in(period)(remove comma) aiding you greatly in the weather war. Ninetales has a few notable sets, namely the Calm Mind Sunny Day set, the Specially Defensive set(comma) and the Nasty Plot set. While they can't really do too much damage off of that 83 Base Special Attack stat, Will-O-Wisp can burn Tyranitar and Hippowdon, cutting their attack and crippling them badly. Even with access to Energy Ball, Tyranitar with the Special Defense boost from the sand can wall it and threaten to OHKO with Stone Edge. However, Tyranitar must watch out for a Sunny Day supported Solarbeam(period) Hypnosis can be an annoyance if it hits, putting one of your Pokemon to sleep. Faster versions of Ninetales can outspeed Excadrill and OHKO with a sun-boosted Flamethrower, so it’s not a good idea to keep Excadrill in against Ninetales.

Politoed

Politoed has made a great impact on today’s metagame with its newly bestowed Dream World ability, Drizzle. Whilst the impact it has on the metagame is largely due to the vast number and sheer power of the rain abusers, Politoed is definitely no slacker itself. Its decent bulk and its base 90 Special Attack allows it to run a variety of sets, ranging from a defensive set to a hard hitting Choice Specs set, thanks to the 50% power boost to Water-type moves provided by the rain, or even a revenge killer killing set with Choice Scarf. All in all, Politoed is a major threat to sandstorm teams with both Tyranitar and Hippowdon being weak to Water-type moves. Special walls(comma) such as Jellicent, Chansey, Ferrothorn, Tentacruel(comma) and Gastrodon(comma) are always good to have on your sandstorm team to keep Politoed in check. Defensive Politoed sets hate being hit with status, especially poison or burn(period)(remove comma) as they wear it down faster. Choice sets require good prediction, but can be forced out rather easily(period) but getting in on the right move can force Politoed out. Entry hazard support is welcome, limiting the number of times Politoed can switch in to into your Tyranitar or Hippowdon. It is also worth noting that Pursuit Tyranitar can also deal with weakened Politoed if it comes in safely, preventing it from switching back in and setting up rain again potentially winning the weather war and turning the tide of the battle in your favour.

Rotom-W

Despite all the other Rotom forms falling out of OU after losing their Ghost typing in this Generation, Rotom’s Wash form remains a top tier Pokemon. With its Water/Electric typing, combined with its ability(comma) Levitate(comma) which gives it an immunity to Ground-type moves, giving it Rotom-W hasonly one weakness: Grass-type moves. Rotom-W is an example of a Pokemon that can fully abuse rain, as both of its STAB attacks are boosted by the rain – Hydro Pump gets 50% more power, and Thunder because becomes 100% accurate. It is a top threat to sandstorm teams(comma) as its STABs and very good allows bulk allow it to take a few hits and threaten common sandstorm team members likesuch as Landorus, Excadrill, Hippowdon(comma) and Tyranitar. It can also run Choice sets with Trick, allowing it to not only get some surprise KOs but to also cripple defensive Pokemon. Defensive sets are even harder to take down, as it can use Will-o-Wisp to cripple your physical sweepers and use Pain Split to gain health when needed. Your best bets at stopping Rotom-W are your generic special walls: Ferrothorn, Chansey, Blissey(comma) and Gastrodon, as well as Celebi, Latias, Latios(comma) and Virizion. They all wouldn't appreciate getting hit with Will-o-Wisp or being Tricked a Choice item though. Another way to wear it down is by way of status(comma) (Toxic or burn) as Rotom-W’s only reliable wayform of recovery is Pain Split.

Scizor

Scizor usually come in two variants, Swords Dance or Choice Band. Choice Band Scizor is deadly, as nothing is immune to U-turn, which can give Scizor the upper hand as it can allows it to switch straight out to a check. Swords Dance Scizor can easily sweep a sandstorm team without an appropriate check. Scizor has one major problem – a 4x weakness to Fire-type moves. Pokemon such as Heatran and Infernape can easily check Scizor and force him to switch, but they have to watch out for Superpower from Choice Band Scizor. Steel types(comma) such as Skarmory and Magnezone(comma) can also come out in on STAB Bullet Punch and Bug Bite and effectively set up on Scizor as well. Skarmory can Whirlwind Scizor away while not taking too much damage, and Magnezone can trap Scizor and kill KO it with Hidden Power Fire. Gyarados resists pretty much anything Scizor does, and it can Roar or Dragon Tail it away, or just set-up a Dragon Dance. Hippowdon can Roar Scizor away if it tries to set up a Swords Dance.

Slowbro

Slowbro is considered one of the greatest threats to a sandstorm team, and for good reason too. It takes on most of sand's most prominent sweepers, including both Landorus and Terrakion. Both sweepers struggle to get by Slowbro, thanks to its impressive bulk and great defensive typing, while Slowbro can bring down both with Ice Beam and Scald respectively. Other common Pokemon found on sand teams, such as Conkeldurr and Gliscor, also have incredible difficulty against it. Slowbro is also incredibly difficult to bring down thanks to Slack Off, and it can heals itself every time it switches in due to its ability, Regenerator. However, Slowbro is not without its faults, one of the best checks to it is the harbringer of Sand himself, Tyranitar, who can threaten it with a powerful Crunch or hit it hard as it switches out with Pursuit. Scizor is another Pokemon that does well against Slowbro. Without Fire Blast, Slowbro has no means of dealing with Scizor, who can in return take it out with a powerful U-turn. Scizor's partner in crime, Rotom-W, can threaten Slowbro in a similar manner, except with Volt Switch.Starmie

Starmie has been OU in every Generation to date, and for a good reason too. Despite not receiving any significant improvements this Generation, Starmie still boasts its blistering 115 Base Speed, which allows Starmie to outspeed every unboosted Pokemon in the OU tier except Deoxys-S, Jolteon and Alakazam(comma)as well as having ait also retains its decent 100 Base Special Attack and access to high powered power moves(comma) such as Hydro Pump and Thunder, meaning it is able to abuse Rain to its fullest. Sand teams will not appreciate a rain boosted Hydro Pump, a an 100% accurate Thunder(comma) nor a powerful Ice Beam, so it is essential to have a Starmie check somewhere on your team. Chansey and Blissey have always been its top counters since they were introduced and they still do a great job against it in this Generation. However, the 5th Generation has given us a Water-type sweeper’s worst enemies: Ferrothorn and Storm Drain Gastrodon, the former being able to tank any hits and OHKO Starmie with Power Whip and the latter being immune to both Water- and Electric-type attacks. Both of these work well on any sandstorm team. If you lack at one of these four Pokemon, it is of high importance that you keep sandstorm up to maintain Excadrill’s Sand Rush, or have a reliable Choice Scarf revenge killer that can reliably take care of the starfish. Starmie’s downfall has always been its common weaknesses and rather average bulk, meaning that it will not last too long on the field if you play intelligently. (remove line separation) Even with its high attacking prowess, it is also worth noting that Starmie can also serve as a great support Pokemon to a Rain team, with access to Rapid Spin(remove comma)(semicolon) its ability to beat the most common spinblockers in the metagame, the move Recover(comma) and its ability Natural Cure. If you see a Starmie on the opposing team, you may wish to be a bit conservative with setting up entry hazards until the Starmie is significantly weakened. Due to Starmie’s Psychic weakness, Tyranitar is one of the best checks to Starmie, as it can OHKO with Crunch, or Pursuit if it switches out, but this should be used as last resort due to how important Tyranitar is to a sandstorm team.

Terrakion

Terrakion is a fairly big potent threat to sandstorm teams(remove period)(comma) It as it outspeeds almost every single sandstorm abuser when unboosted(period)(remove comma)and if it uses Rock Polish, it can even outspeed Excadrill in the sand. Furthermore, it can boost its Attack to high levels with Swords Dance, allowing it to power through most of the Pokemon that are used on a sandstorm team with just its powerful STAB moves. It even gets a Special Defense boost from the sandstorm, and can even utilise a Choice Band or Choice Scarf set. It still struggles to get past Gliscor(remove comma) no matter what set it is running, without a Rock Gem(comma) thanks to Gliscor’s high Defense and decent typing. Reuniclus and Slowbro can both take a hit from Terrakion and respond with a powerful STAB Psychic, or a Scald in Slowbro’s case. Terrakion is also weak to a lot of priority attacks; Conkeldurr can check it with Mach Punch, Scizor can check it with Bullet Punch(comma) andor Azumarill could check it with Aqua Jet. Hippowdon can also take a Close Combat and KO with Earthquake(period) take a Close Combat and Earthquake for the KO, and Excadrill can outspeed and KO with Earthquake if Terrakion has not used Rock Polish, but be careful about Air Balloon. Virizion

Virizion is an underrated sweeper which can tear huge holes into a sandstorm team. At first(comma) it may seem like a less powerful Breloom, but with more Speed and bulk. However, Virizion can run a physical, special(comma) or mixed set, which makes it unpredictably dangerous. Calm Mind Virizion is extremely dangerous for a sandstorm team, since it can defeat a lot of common sand team fixtures and Fighting-type checks(period)kill a lot of things that would usually feature on sandstorm teams, as well as beat common checks to Fighting types. Giga Drain beats Jellicent, Gastrodon(comma) and other bulky waters, and it also maims Hippowdon. Hidden Power Ice would lay waste to Gliscor and Landorus. Focus Blast is the a powerful Fighting STAB attack that easily beats Tyranitar. What makes things worse is that Excadrill cannot OHKO without a Swords Dance boost, unless it runs Aerial Ace, which is a seriously inferior option to the other moves it gets. Physical Virizion is easily walled by Skarmory, since it lacks the raw Physical power other Fighting types do. of other Fighting types(period) Gliscor can also beat Physical Virizion, but mixed Virizion runs Hidden Power Ice, which ruins Gliscor. Calm Mind Virizion can struggle to get the best of Latios and Latias, but without a Psychic-type attack, they won’t do too much damage back. Liquid Ooze Tentacruel is one of the best checks, as it damages Virizion when it uses Giga Drain. In return, it can burn it with Scald and slowly drain its health.

These teams are always a major threat, threatening both Tyranitar and Hippowdon. With rain up, Water-type attacks are boosted by 50%, as well as increasing Thunder and Hurricane’s accuracies to 100%, which certainly helps as they are both 120 Base Power attacks. It also gives Pokemon with Dry Skin and Rain Dish abilities an extra form of recovery, as well as offering Steel-, Bug-, Ice- and Grass-types support due to a 50% damage reduction from Fire-type attacks. The rain also doubles the Speed of Pokemon with the Swift Swim ability. Due to the large threat Drizzle teams were in the metagame, a ban on having Pokemon with both the Drizzle and Swift Swim abilities on the same team was put in place. Nevertheless, Drizzle teams still have a large number of hard hitting abusers and should never to be taken lightly. It is always a must to have at least one or two Pokemon in your sandstorm team to keep Pokemon that are commonly used on a rain team in check. Most rain teams consist of special attackers with Water- and Electric-types as their main STAB and hence all have similar checks: Pokemon with a good Special Defense and Pokemon with a resistance or immunity to Water-type moves. Such supporters include: Ferrothorn, Gastrodon, Chansey, Blissey, Tentacruel, Jellicent, Celebi, Latias, Latios, and Rotom-W.

Thundurus

With a great Electric / Flying typing that provides resistances to a number of common types and an awesome movepool, combined with a fantastic 125 Base Special Attack, a good 115 Base Attack and a very good base 111 speed that allows it to outspeed significant Pokemon such as Gengar, Latias, Latios and Terrakion, Thundurus is definitely a major threat to any kind of team – this includes sandstorm teams. It has 2 main sets: a supportive set and a Nasty Plot sweeper. The former set aids a team immensely with priority Thunder Wave crippling opposing sweepers and Taunt aiding in breaking stall, and the latter set is one of most dangerous sweepers in the metagame. It doesn't gain too much from rain, but it goes get the ability to use a 100% accurate Thunder, and it doesn’t have to worry too much about being outpaced by Excadrill and Chlorophyll Pokemon. Between Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice, Focus Blast, Hammer Arm and Grass Knot, almost nothing can safely switch into Thundurus without taking severe damage. It can setup on a lot of commonly used defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Ferrothorn. Its one true counter is Unaware Quagsire. Gastrodon also does a good job of checking Thundurus, but both of them fall to a Grass Knot. The most reliable way to take it down is by revenge killing or exploiting its Stealth Rock weakness. This means that like Starmie, it is essential to have your weather up in order to let Excadrill take care of it, or have a reliable Choice Scarf Pokemon that can KO it. Bringing in your Tyranitar or Hippowdon against it is NOT advisable as Focus Blast and Hammer Arm can OHKO Tyranitar, and HP Ice or Grass Knot can severely threaten Hippowdon, allowing your opponent to gain the upper hand in terms of weather.Banned Deucer

Tornadus

Despite having the exact same stats as Thundurus, this Pokemon is largely considered as inferior to Thundurus. However, there is one thing that Tornadus has that Thundurus would kill for: access to Hurricane, a 120 Base Power Flying-type move. Its shaky accuracy is not an issue, as it is boosted to 100% accuracy with rain up, meaning that it is a lot easier to use. Tornadus are usually seen with the Choice Specs set (Hurricane, Focus Blast, Hidden Power [Ice] or Grass Knot, U Turn) or mixed, since it has quite a nice set of physical attacks to use with its 115 Base Attack. Although it is not as threatening to Sand teams as Thundurus and Starmie are, Tornadus do always pack Focus Blast, Hammer Arm or Grass Knot much like Thundurus does, making you think twice about sending in your Tyranitar or Hippowdon against it. The best Pokemon to use against it are Pokemon with a good Special Defense Jirachi and Chansey or Blissey at full health. Common Electric-type Pokemon like Rotom-W and Thundurus can also check Tornadus fairly well. Bulky Water-types such as Tentacruel and Jellicent do fairly well against it, as it doesn't have the powerful STAB Thunderbolt or Thunder that makes Thundurus much more threatening. If you can keep sandstorm on the field, Hurricane’s accuracy drops to 70%, and if you can keep Stealth Rock up, Tornadus loses 25% of its health every time it switches in, which will make Tornadus a lot less threatening.

Toxicroak

Despite having poor defences and an average Attack stat, Toxicroak fits perfectly on any rain team, offering resistances to common attacking types such as Fighting, Bug, Grass and Rock, as well as being able to absorb the Toxic Spikes that would otherwise plague rain teams. Its main selling point is its ability, Dry Skin, which restores Toxicroak’s HP when it is hit with Water-type attacks, and grants an extra 6.25% HP recovery every turn in rain, allowing it to setup on Pokemon that would normally trouble Rain teams such as Ferrothorn, Chansey, Blissey, Tentacruel and Virizion. Toxicroak is usually seen with a Swords Dance set or Bulk Up set, which utilises Substitute to block status such as paralysis and burn and uses Drain Punch and Sucker Punch for decent coverage, recovery and priority. It is typically beaten by generic physical walls such as Gliscor, Slowbro and Hippowdon, as they can all take a hit or two and threaten to KO it with Earthquake or Psychic, or Roar it out. Other commonly used Pokemon that can beat Toxicroak are Jellicent, Bold Reuniclus and Roar Latias. Some Toxicroak run Ice Punch to surprise incoming Gliscor and Dragon-types, but since it is incompatible with Drain Punch, you can presume it has it if you see that it has something other than Drain Punch, like Brick Break or Cross Chop. Though it is not a good idea to bring in your Tyranitar against it, having sandstorm up severely dents its ability to setup with ease and allows you to deal with it better.

Jirachi

Previously forgotten in the past after all the hype over the new Pokemon from Black and White, Calm Mind Jirachi makes its way back into competitive play with permanent rain reducing damage from Fire attacks as well as being able to fire off a 100% accurate Thunder, with Serene Grace giving making Thunder have a 60% chance to paralyze, and a rain-boosted Water Pulse, with Serene Grace giving it a 40% chance to confuse. The set aims to use Serene Grace to its fullest with the infamous “parafusion” combination as well as, like Toxicroak, allowing it to setup with ease on Pokemon that normally trouble rain teams, such as Ferrothorn, who struggles to break Jirachi’s Substitute and Chansey and Blissey, due to its 101 HP Substitutes; and lastly, lure out counters to its normal Physical, such as Gliscor, Jellicent and Skarmory, only to hit them with a boosted Water Pulse or Thunder. Though becoming common now, Calm Mind Jirachi is definitely a threat to unprepared sandstorm teams and it must never be given the opportunity to setup. The three best Pokemon to use against Calm Mind Jirachi are Storm Drain Gastrodon, Nasty Plot or Perish Song Celebi and Unaware Quagsire. Specially Defensive Tyranitar can brush off its attacks with ease but it cannot do much back without Earthquake, which is rare on Specially Defensive variants, and Hippowdon with all its bulk can take a +1 or +2 Water Pulse if at good health and Roar it away or Earthquake for the 2HKO.

Drought Teams

Heatran

Heatran is typically used as a Stealth Rock supporter. However, it also has great offensive capabilities, especially in a sun team, where sun raises the power of its Fire-type attacks by 50% and weakens Water-type attacks by 50%. The main aim of a sun team with Heatran is to lure a Fire-type attack aimed at a Pokemon such as Venusaur (or a similar Chlorophyll Grass type user) and get the Flash Fire boost for Heatran. You're really not going to enjoy a sun-boosted, STAB, Flash Fire boosted Fire type move from a massive Base 130 Special Attack. Heatran isn't too hard for a Sand team to handle as long as Sandstorm is up. It can cause a problem for Tyranitar if Tyranitar switches into Earth Power but it doesn’t really have any way of boosting its Special Attack to create havoc. Tyranitar can normally handle any variation of Heatran as long as it doesn't take repeated hits from Earth Power. Specially Defensive Hippowdon can threaten to OHKO it with Earthquake and can use Slack Off to heal any damage taken. Sandstorm teams can utilise their own Heatran to take a Choice- locked Fire attack and threaten the opposing Heatran with Earth Power. Gastrodon can also walk all over any Heatran without Hidden Power Grass.

Venusaur

Venusaur is probably the best sun sweeper in the current metagame. Having access to Growth, which boosts both its Special Attack and Attack stat by 2 stages in the sun, allows it to become a powerful mixed attacker, and Chlorophyll doubles Venusaur’s Speed, allowing it to outspeed a very large portion of the metagame. A lot of people are fans of the Special sweeper Venusaur, which uses Giga Drain, Hidden Power Fire or Ice and Sludge Bomb alongside Growth. Whilst that can tear holes in many teams and has the capability to hit Tyranitar and Hippowdon hard, it is entirely walled by Heatran. The mixed set is more dangerous, as Venusaur can use Earthquake to deal massive damage to the likes of Tyranitar and Heatran. Power Whip can also be used in place of Giga Drain for the extra power but the loss of recovery will decrease Venusaur’s longevity. The mixed variant is difficult to check because it can use many different attacks. The best thing to do is to remove the sunny weather before it sets up. Choice Scarf Tyranitar can do this and outspeed and threaten it severely. Without sun, it is a much lesser threat, but with sun up the mixed variant is very difficult to deal with until you know what attacks it is running.

Sawsbuck

Sawsbuck is a physical sweeper, and with access to Chlorophyll and a Base 100 Attack stat, it can pose a lot of problems when used in a sun team. It is almost exclusively seen using a Swords Dance set, using three of Horn Leech, Jump Kick, Nature Power (which turns into Earthquake in link battles), Return, Frustration and Wild Charge. Outside of those moves, there isn’t much else Sawsbuck can do. It struggles to get past the standard Physical walls such as Gliscor and Skarmory, but it seriously threatens both Tyranitar and Hippowdon, as well as many common sandstorm abusers. If you’ve got a solid Physical wall, then you shouldn’t have a huge problem with Sawsbuck.

Darmanitan

Darmanitan has everything it needs to be a threat on a sun team. A Sheer Force boosted STAB Flare Blitz coming off of a Base 140 Attack will demolish nearly anything that doesn't resist it. Fortunately, this offensive beast has very weak defenses. It does have a fairly nice 95 Base Speed, with which it can take advantage of a Choice Band or Choice Scarf – in fact almost every Darmanitan you’ll see will probably have a Choice item. It’s really had to switch into Darmanitan’s Flare Blitz, even if you resist it. Heatran is immune to Flare Blitz and gets boosted by Flash Fire, but it will fall to Superpower. Slowbro does a fairly nice job, but U-Turn hurts it. Excadrill can outspeed it and KO if sandstorm is active. Most of the time, Darmanitan will kill itself through Flare Blitz recoil and Stealth Rock damage. Just try and force it to switch, and you should be alright.

Victini

Victini is fairly similar to Darmanitan. Instead of Flare Blitz, you have to take V-Create, a Base 180 power move – and in the sun, it does even more damage. Typically, Choice Band or Choice Scarf Victini are the most commonly used variants in Sun teams. Slowbro can take Flare Blitz, but a Fusion Bolt will hurt a lot. Heatran is a decent check to most Victini, as they usually lack Focus Blast. A rare Special variant can be handled by Tyranitar, so long as it avoids Focus Blast.

Volcarona

Volcarona is one of the deadliest sun sweepers you can find. Almost all sun teams run a Pokemon with Rapid Spin to prevent Stealth Rock from ruining their common sweepers. Volcarona is one of the few Fire-type Pokemon that is actually dangerous to a sandstorm team. After a Quiver Dance, Volcarona hit Tyranitar with STAB Bug Buzz and severely dent it. Specially Defensive Hippowdon can't really do much to it, as Volcarona’s unique typing makes it neutral to Earthquake. After 2 Quiver Dances, it outspeeds Jolly Excadrill in the sand and will most probably sweep your entire team. The standard Volcarona used in sun teams is one that utilises the ChestoRest strategy, healing Volcarona of any prior damage and giving it a second chance to sweep. To deal with Volcarona, it is highly recommended that you try to keep Stealth Rock in play at all times, as Stealth Rock will remove 50% of Volcarona’s HP every time it switches in. Heatran can wall it long if it doesn't have Hidden Power Ground. If it does, Volcarona is sacrificing recovery through Rest, meaning that it will not stay alive for as long as it wishes to. Heatran can also Roar it away, forcing it to take more Stealth Rock damage upon switching in again. Excadrill in the sand can outspeed +1 Speed Volcarona and OHKO with Rock Slide. Tentacruel can also check it decently.

Fighting-types

The fact that Tyranitar and Excadrill are by far the most common Pokemon in sandstorm teams opens up a whole weakness to Fighting-types. Considering BW introduced some extremely powerful and versatile Fighting-types, this is a grave issue! Often, these will switch into Tyranitar without breaking a sweat. Hence, if your team is using Tyranitar, as you most likely will, then it is crucial to have teammates to cover for this weakness.

Infernape

Infernape is still a devastating force to be reckoned with. Infernape's versatility is obviously its most dangerous weapon against any team. Sandstorm teams are no exceptions. Sporting a Base 104 Attack and Special Attack, it can hard to determine whether Infernape is running a Physical, Special or mixed set. It’s hard to find a counter or check for the mixed version. The physical version can be taken cared of easily by Slowbro and Gliscor and the special version can be handled by Latias or a similar Pokemon that resists its STAB Fighting and Fire. Slowbro and Gastrodon work really well if it lacks Grass Knot. The mixed version can usually be handled by Slowbro, as Grass Knot is not that popular anymore. Excadrill can survive a Mach Punch at around 80% health and proceed to OHKO with Earthquake. Hippowdon can take it fairly well assuming Infernape lacks Grass Knot, and almost all bulky waters such as Suicune, Jellicent, and Vaporeon can wall it, and proceed to KO it with STAB Water-type moves.

Scrafty

Scrafty is not that powerful, yet it has just enough power to KO what it needs to. Its ability, Shed Skin, makes hitting it with status inflictions near useless. Its offenses are practically nothing when other commonly used Fighting-type Pokemon, but it has brilliant bulk and access to excellent set-up moves such as Dragon Dance and Bulk Up. Scrafty’s movepool really limits what can check it. It cannot really be walled by Gliscor or Slowbro like other Fighting-type Pokemon can, due to it usually carrying Ice Punch and STAB Crunch. The problem that Scrafty has is that almost any Fighting-type Pokemon can come in and scare it away or just smash it with their own an STAB Fighting-type move. Without Dragon Dance, Scrafty is easily outsped due to its mediocre Base 58 Speed. Conkeldurr can easily come in at any move before it sets up too much and can set up Bulk Ups or just Drain Punch Scrafty to death. Skarmory is a good defensive check, as a +1 Drain Punch or Hi Jump Kick won’t hurt it nearly as much as similar attacks from other Fighting-type Pokemon. Hippowdon can Roar Scrafty away, but it cannot really do too much damage itself.

Mienshao

Mienshao is mostly used as a Fake Out lead. It’s frail, fast and powerful and has access to a great ability, Regeneration. Normally it is only seen using the same set, which uses Fake Out, Hi Jump Kick, U-turn and Hidden Power Ice with a Life Orb. It has the access to Sword Dance, although it is rarely seen. But in a lead position it will almost 90% of the time have the above mentioned set. Hi Jump Kick will hurt most of your sand team. But in truth, Mienshao is one of the easier Pokemon to check. Excadrill can come in on anything but Hi Jump Kick to OHKO it with a powerful STAB Earthquake. Gliscor can't handle the standard variant because of Hidden Power Ice, but without Hidden Power, Gliscor is a great check. Slowbro beats Mienshao easily, but U-turn will hurt a bit. Arguably the greatest counter to Mienshao would be Jellicent, as it is immune to Hi Jump Kick and Fake Out, resists both U-turn and Hidden Power Ice, and it can burn with Scald and Recover any damage. Hippowdon handles Mienshao well, as it struggles to do much damage to it, whereas Hippowdon can respond with Earthquake.

Machamp

Machamp is a very annoying Pokemon to deal with. Thanks to No Guard, Dynamicpunch is always going to hit and cause confusion. Only Ghost types can avoid this, and they can check Machamp fairly well thanks to Payback not being entirely reliable. It has a variety of coverage moves including Ice Punch, Stone Edge, Bullet Punch, and the aforementioned Payback. Gliscor deals well with variants lacking Ice Punch. Reuniclus and Slowbro can shut Machamp down completely, with Reuniclus beating it with a powerful Psychic, and Slowbro either burning with Scald or hitting with Psychic.

Other Threats

Excadrill

Excadrill is one of the greatest assets to a sandstorm team, but it’s also the most threatening thing to be matched up against. With its Sand Rush ability, it can outspeed almost every Pokemon in the metagame, including most of a sandstorm team. With access to moves such as Earthquake, Swords Dance, X-Scissor, Rock Slide, and Brick Break, it is able to come in and sweep entire teams that are not prepared for its destructive force. Gliscor is a solid counter, being able to switch in to any of its moves and hitting back hard with Earthquake. Fighting-type Pokemon such as Conkeldurr and Infernape can threaten Excadrill with Mach Punch, while Skarmory can effectively take many of Excadrill's attacks and easily Whirlwind him away.Banned Deucer

Dragonite

Dragonite has become one of the top dragons this Generation, finally outclassing its younger brother Salamence. Its new ability Multiscale reduces damage by 50% when it has full HP, and in conjunction with Roost, makes Dragonite one hard dragon to take down. Dragonite has many possible sets, but the three main variations are Specially Offensive, Dragon Dance, and Bulky Phazer. Specially Offensive Dragonites are more often seen on Rain teams as Dragonite can take advantage of a 100% accurate Hurricane and Thunder. Dragon Dance variations focus on taking advantage of Multiscale to get a free Dragon Dance and proceed to sweep with some selection of Extremespeed, Outrage, Fire Punch, and Earthquake. On the defensive spectrum, Bulky Phazer sets take full advantage of Multiscale by coupling it with Roost. Other moves often seen on this set are Substitute and Thunder Wave, while Dragon Tail phazes the opponent. Stealth Rock nullifies the effects of Multiscale, making Dragonite much easier to KO. Special Walls such as Chansey and Blissey can easily take on Specially Offensive versions of Dragonite. Dragon Dance versions can be a lot harder to handle, but pokemon such as Gliscor and Ferrothorn can come in and scare it away with Ice Fang or Gyro Ball. Bulky Phazer sets with Dragon Tail and Thunder Wave can be a nuisance, but the only way it can rack up damage is with entry hazards set up, so Rapid Spin users such as Starmie can spin away hazards and attack with Ice Beam while absorbing Thunder Wave with Natural Cure.

Latios and Latias

The dynamic duo are probably two of the strongest specially based Dragon-types in the metagame. Latios can hit hard with Choice Specs and Trick it onto incoming tanks while Latias, being more defensively based, is one of the best Calm Mind users in the game. Unfortunately, these Dragons fall prey to the most common Pokemon on Sand teams, Tyranitar. Tyranitar can switch into either Dragon-type and trap it with Pursuit. Blissey can tank Draco Meteors from Specs Latios and heal up, while Scizor and Ferrothorn can come in on Calm Mind Latias and threaten it with U-turn or Gyro Ball.

Haxorus

Haxorus used to be a laughingstock of early BW metagame because of its unfortunate speed tier, but don't be fooled; this dragon can be your worst enemy if you are not prepared. With 147 Base Attack coupled with Rivalry, Haxorus can destroy some of the sturdiest physical walls in the OU metagame. Choice Banded Outrage with Rivalry boost is a clean 2HKO on Pokemon such as Ferrothorn and Skarmory. Haxorus also has access to Dragon Dance to fix its rather low 97 Base Speed and Swords Dance to boost its attack to astronomical levels. Because there is no virtually no Pokemon that can tank Haxorus's assaults with a Choice Band or after a Dragon Dance, the key to stopping Haxorus is by sending in a faster Dragon-type to catch it while it's stuck on Outrage or by wearing it down with priority moves.

Hydreigon

Hydreigon is one of the new specially based dragons this generation. With a wide range of moves ranging from Dark Pulse to Flamethrower, it can be pretty hard on sand teams if you're not carrying the appropriate checks and counters. One of it's flaws is its rather low speed. With only 98 Base Speed, it falls 2 points short of joining the Base 100 club, losing to a multitude of common offensive Pokemon. Hydreigon tend to carry Choice Scarf or Choice Specs, allowing it to deal heavy damage and then switch out, but on occasion, it does run Life Orb or Expert Belt for better coverage. Special walls such as Chansey and Blissey can easily switch into whatever Hydreigon can dish out and tank the attack. Hydreigon is also part Dark-type, which makes it weak to Fighting-type Pokemon such as Conkeldurr or Terrakion.

Jellicent

Jellicent is one of the top specially defensive walls in today's metagame, and for good reason. It has access to both Will-O-Wisp and Toxic, has access to instant recovery and Water Absorb, and can act as a spinblocker. With such assets, Jellicent is a huge threat to any sandstorm team. Jellicent usually packs moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Toxic, Scald, Recover, or Taunt, making it a very versatile wall. Even so, Jellicent has a number of counters that can scare it away. Pokemon such as Celebi, Toxic Orb Breloom, and Magic Guard Reuniclus can come in and absorb status while potentially setting up on it. Physical attackers such as Tyranitar can try to come in too but must always be wary of Will-O-Wisp.

Landorus

Unlike the other genies, who are often found on Rain teams, Landorus thrives primarily in sand because of its typing and ability Sand Force. Sand Force allows all of its Ground- and Rock- type moves to be boosted by 1.3%. While this may seem like an insignificant boost, moves such as Earthquake, who share a STAB boost, now have the power to devestate foes that it could not before. This free 1.3% bonus can even be extended by the likes of attack boosting items such as Choice items and Life Orb. Landorus is unique in a sense that, while the other genies focus on speed, Landorus gives up that extra speed for amazing attack stats on both sides of the spectrum. With a whooping 125 base attack, and a 115 base special attack, Landorus is definitely no pushover. Although its physical attack may be higher, it has the option to use moves such as Earth Power and Hidden Power Ice to suprise foes and nab kills on common switch-ins such as Gliscor. Landorus is commonly found using either a Physical Life Orb set or a Choice Scarf/Band set to take advantage of its amazing Attack. Even so, some may opt to throw players off by using a special Set because with access to moves such as Earth Power and Focus Blast, Landorus can still send foes packing and can surprise most of its usual counter. Some of Landorus's checks include Pokemon such as Rotom-W and Gyarados that can come in and dodge an Earthquake, forcing it to switch out, but Stone Edge does huge damage to both. Physically bulky Pokemon such as Gliscor and Skarmory can pretty much counter most physical sets.

Building a sandstorm team is pretty easy. You want to start with a Pokemon that has the Sand Stream ability; Tyranitar or Hippowdon are your only two choices. Tyranitar has great defenses bulk, but its Special Defense stands out more than its Defense due to Sandstorm raising its Special Defense by 50%. Hippowdon's strong point is its Physical bulk, which consists of an awesome 118 Base Defense and a very good 108 Base HP. It depends on what you need your support weather summoner to do for your team: Tyranitar can check Latios, Latias and Reuniclus; Hippowdon can check Excadrill Terrakion and other tough Physical sweepers. Both Tyranitar and Hippowdon are able to set up Stealth Rock. You could even run both Tyranitar and Hippowdon on your team if you wanted to.

There are essentially three two standout offensive Pokemon that benefit from the sandstorm. They are Excadrill, Landorus, and Terrakion. A good sandstorm team would have one or two of these offensive Pokemon, as having too many would just weaken your team even more against Water-types and rain teams. Excadrill is typically used to take advantage of Sand Rush, which doubles its Speed in the sandstorm. This makes Excadrill an excellent sweeper with Swords Dance and STAB Earthquake. Excadrill can also use Rapid Spin to support your team if your team is weak against entry hazards. Excadrill is basically an excellent sweeper, spinner, and revenge killer for a sandstorm team. Landorus hits like a truck without any boost required, thanks to Sand Force raising the power of its Ground- and Rock-type moves by 30% in the sandstorm. Unlike Excadrill, thisThis guy gets access to a much stronger Rock-type move (Stone Edge) Stone Edge(comma) and is not walled by Gliscor, thanks to Hidden Power Ice(period)(remove comma) though Landorus is not as fast as Excadrill. It does have access to Rock Polish to make up for that though. Terrakion is another great sweeper in the sandstorm, with great defenses along with a 50% increase of Special Defense thanks to sandstorm. Unlike Landorus, Terrakion takes advantage of its Fighting-type and Rock-type, which allows it to get STAB on two powerful moves, Close Combat and Stone Edge, which have great neutral coverage between them(comma) it is also faster than Landorus. It is faster than Landorus but slower than Excadrill, but it can boost its Speed with Rock Polish, making it even faster than Excadrill. All threeBoth of these offensive threats get access to Swords Dance, making them even more dangerous.

With Tyranitar or Hippowdon and Excadrill, Terrakion or Landorus being the chosen cores of your sandstorm team, you will need to cover your team’s weaknesses, and make sure you can stop common threats and provide good offensive synergy as well. Many sandstorm abusers are weak to Water-type moves, and this means we have to choose some Pokemon that can take Water-type moves from the likes of Rotom-W and Starmie. Pokemon like Celebi or Gastrodon are great choices to stop Water-types. Celebi has Natural Cure, allowing it to hurl shrug off a burn and defeat Rotom-W or Jellicent, and it also resists Grass- and Fighting-type moves, common weaknesses amongst sandstorm teams. Gastrodon gets the ability Storm Drain, which allows it to take any Water-type attacks and raise its Special Attack(comma) while also being immune to Electric-type attacks thanks to its secondary Ground typing, so it's able to beat threats such as Starmie(period)and Thundurus.

Having more than one way of stopping Water-type threats is great for the team. You can support your team with Stealth Rock by letting your sandstorm supporter (Tyranitar or Hippowdon) set it up. If you wish to have a Spikes supporter, you can use Skarmory, Ferrothorn, Forretress(comma) or Deoxys-D. They're all great options. Dragon-type moves hurt almost every Pokemon that isn’t a Steel-type, so having a Steel-type Pokemon would really benefit your sandstorm team. Steel-types are immune to sandstorm damage as well. Jirachi is a Steel-type that can be used to support your team with Wish and to check Gengar, which could cause problems to a common sandstorm team with its Shadow Ball and Focus Blast combo. Blissey and Chansey are also great Wish supporters, and they can provide paralysis support as well as Heal Bell support. Blissey, Chansey and Specially Defensive Jirachi are both able to take on special attacking Water-types as well, making them excellent supporting Pokemon on a sandstorm team.

ScarfTar is really underrated in this metagame. It's able to check some of the top special attackers(comma) such as Lati@s, Starmie, and the genies, all common on Drizzle teams. ScarfTar also gives me an early advantage against DS Dual Screens Shell Smash teams(comma) as they'll usually lead with Espeon in the hopes of getting screens up only to be outsped and OHKOd OHKOed. Sun basically has no chance unless they run the rare Sub Chandelure to lure me in. Superpower is chosen over Ice Beam or something in order to hit Ferrothorn as well as Terrakion and other Tyranitar.

Excadrill is my revenge killer to the many problems this team has against threats such as Volcarona, Cloyster, Dragon Dance Dragonite, Haxorus, Salamence, and so on. Excadrill not only fixes all those problems, it also allows me to nullify all entry hazards with Rapid Spin. Swords Dance(comma) coupled with Earthquake and Rock Slide(comma) provides great coverage. Excadrill also resists Thunder Wave and Toxic, making it a great Pokemon to switch in on status users(comma) such aslike Blissey(comma) and set up.

Skarmory sets up the Spikes that make Latias that much more threatening. I'm able to bring Skarmory in against a wide range of physical attackers while forcing them out(comma) giving me a free turn to Spike. The best thing about Skarmory, however, is having that it isa hard stop to the most threatening Sand sweepers in the metagame: Excadrill and Landorus. Thanks to a huge investment in defense with an impish Impish nature(comma) none of these threats are able to do more than 50% even at +2! There's always a tough choice in deciding between Brave Bird and Taunt, but I really hate facing a last mon Excadrill, since Heatran won't always have his Air Balloon intact. 16 Speed EVs have actually helped a lot when facing Pokemon that aim to reach the 177 spe mark. Pokemon such as bulky Breloom, Jellicent, and CB Tyranitar. I've thought about Shed Shell multiple times but I'm usually able to play around Magnezone teams anyway(comma) as they're so intent upon trapping Skarmory that Terrakion can often come in and spam Close Combat/Stone Edge.

This set is amazing. Latias usually cleans up late in the battle as constant Roaring keeps Jirachi and Tyranitar wary of switching in and they are generally weakened at this point anyway. I generally bring Latias in on a slower special attacker(comma) such as Celebi, Rotom-W, or Jellicent(comma) and proceed to Calm Mind. From there(comma) the opponent is froced to decide whether to switch and take Spikes + Stealth Rock damage or stay in and risk letting me set up even more. Latias is one of very few good Reuniclus checks. Though it does have trouble with OTR Offensive Trick Room variants, it can at least Roar them out. With max HP(comma) Latias even has some nice physical bulk. The standard Stealth Rock Tyranitar can't OHKO with Crunch, which means even if I guess wrong and they Pursuit, Latias can come back in later. Gyarados also can't KO with Bounce(comma)giving which gives me a check outside of Skarmory(comma) which is always nice due to Taunt/Dragon Tail on Gyarados.

There are only so many viable Stealth Rock users in BW, and since I was running Tyranitar with a Choice Scarf set(comma) and the other one's(comma) such as Bronzong, and Ferrothorn(comma) were horribly redundant with Skarmory(remove period)(comma) Heatran was an obvious choice(period) I also wanted some offensive presence and a way to make Forretress think twice about switching in and spinning my hazards away.(space)Air Balloon is nice(comma) as it gives me another check to the sand sweepers in case they run Magnezone or something. Hidden Power Ice is so great for catching Salamence on the switch or checking Gliscor if it managed to grab a SD. Also a great switchin to Taunt + WoW Mew which is sooooo annoying.

omg A bulky water Water switch-in that doesn't mind a scald burn?? Yeah that was basically why Celebi was put on the team at first. It does work well with the rest of my team(comma) though(comma) with Tyranitar taking care of the Latis Latii twins(comma) which prevent a sweep, and forming the infamous Celetran combo that was popular during 4th gen. Anyway this is a set that's been gaining in popularity recently and with good reason; It comes in on a bulky water Water, grabs a NP(comma) and can severely damage damages a team from there. I know some people prefer to run max speed but I've always preferred the bulk(comma) since it makes Celebi much more of a threat once it gets a NP boost. This set is walled by Haxorus and Hydreigon anyway(comma) so the Speed wouldn't help there(comma) and very few base 100s max sperun max Speed anyway(comma) so I just threw enough speed in there to beat Jolly Tyranitar however rare they may be. Celebi helps Latias to an extent(comma) to since it lures and weakens/KOs Ferrothorn, Jirachi, Scizor, Tyranitar, etc.

Conclusion

Well, that was a lot to cover! Hopefully this guide gave a general understanding of sandstorm teams, and even helped you build a successful sand team of your own or better prepare for an opposing sand team. Sandstorm is the most common weather of the metagame for a very good reason. If you want a balanced team with an offensive punch, get out there and try a sandstorm team—it will not disappoint.

It appears Amarillo may have left Smogon as he has not signed in since November 29th. I'm not sure what's going on, so I shall proceed with this message.

fat Amarillo said:

edit: checking just Politoed, Starmie, Rotom-W, Ninetales, Conkeldurr, Terrakion, Breloom, Virizion, Skarmory/Forretress, and Dragonite should be fine. Feel free to disagree on the list, though. Also, idk why Gliscor was never on the top threat list considering it was the best check for exca but w/e. Even now, the top 'sand' sweeper terrakion is best checked by gliscor so i wouldn't mind writing a short blurb on him. (yeah sand sweepers don't exist anymore but )

Click to expand...

I've made a few judgement calls: Tornadus stays because you pretty much need Sand up or Rotom-W to stop it, and having Ttar beaten down by U-Turn is not fun. Volcarona stays because it can shred many common members of sand ie) Ttar, although its checked by Terrakion and Heatran, Volcarona can still carry HP Ground to make their lives miserable. Lucario stays because it can make common Sand Pokes drop like flies with Close Combat+Ice Punch, Scarf Ttar and Terrakion might be able to revenge kill it, but you'd have to be pretty damn gutsy to switch in. Scizor stays because it can pummel Terrakion and Landorus, the two most potent sand abusers, with Bullet Punch. Sand is more a threat to Dragonite than Dragonite is a threat to Sand. Therefore, it shall be removed as well. The threats to sandstorm subsections will be deleted, and I will sort the Pokemon in alphabetical order.

Still need to Gliscor written up, and I shall go ahead and keep all the Pokemon Amarillo wanted to keep. As well, I will keep a couple Pokes who I feel are big enough threats to sand to be worth a mention. If Amarillo never comes back, I guess I will write Gliscor myself and have somebody else quickly GP it. As well, I personally feel that Forretress and Skarmory play much too differently to be regarded as the same Pokemon, so I feel they should be rewritten as well. Another judgement call, but like Gliscor, Slowbro needs to be added, simply because it counters Terrakion and Landorus.

As the author isn't here atm to make the final say, criticism is appreciated.

Okay here's Gliscor. I never got how Eternal can write that much but i tried my best so that this doesn't look abnormally short in comparison. Aff it's still too short but w/e nwo can just cut down verbose phrases for other things and the length will even out.

BTW as NWO said my activity will be declining much so i mean someone can take it over if they really really really want to. NWO's going to give the second GP stamp, so really all you need to do is take all his edits and format it (the formatting is really annoying, it's just me I guess.) Idk NWO if you get back then you can do that yourself (ps: i'm leaving for like two weeks too so yeah)

Gliscor:

Gliscor can threaten any sandstorm team with its excellent Defense and typing. Its typing gives it an immunity to Ground while retaining the neutrality to Rock—this means that Gliscor can wall common sand sweepers with ease. Both Landorus and Terrakion have extreme difficulties in getting past Gliscor unless they use Hidden Power Ice. While Hippowdon without Ice Fang is completely helpless against Gliscor as it Toxic stalls, Tyranitar will fall to a few Earthquakes if it does not carry Ice Beam. Other common sand Pokemon, such as Skarmory and Scizor, will lose to the standard Taunt and Swords Dance set. Note that Ice-type moves on sandstorm Pokemon are left as viable options purely for Gliscor: a testament to how much Gliscor threatens a standard sand team. Without such coverage moves to surprise Gliscor, a Ground-resist with a way to hit Gliscor, such as Celebi, should be necessary. Otherwise, Water-type Pokemon such as Rotom-W can shut it down with a powerful STAB.

I know that you are going through a Grammar Check, but I think we are missing out on a huge offensive player for sandstorm teams: Breloom. He is one of the only non-Ground/Rock/Steel Pokemon that can function inside Sandstorm, since Poison Heal recovers 12.5% each turn, outpacing Sandstorm's damage to give you Leftovers recovery. The water resist is very helpful and it can dismantle rain teams with ease with its grass-stab for waters and fighting-stab for Ferrothorn. I've been using him on my Sandstorm with great success and he definitely fits in a lot better than other "non-sand" pokemon